"Just as the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say 'thou shalt not' to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills," he urged last November.
The Pope can count headline-grabbing French economist Thomas Piketty and the International Monetary Fund as allies in the fight against inequality. Piketty has laid out the shocking rise in inequality over time, while the IMF has analysed how inequality holds back economic growth. Even former cabinet minister Chris Huhne has weighed in on inequality in his Guardian column.
Piketty's acclaimed new book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, topped the best-seller list on Amazon.com as he showed how the distribution of wealth has changed over centuries.
According to his much-discussed analysis, the rich have never been richer over the last century, even more so than after the Great Depression and the World Wars.
Piketty writes: "From 1977 to 2007, the richest 10% appropriated three-quarters of the growth. The richest 1% alone absorbed nearly 60% of the total increase of US national income in this period."
The IMF's analysis also undermines warnings from free market supporters that policies to redistribute wealth such as progressive taxes on high earners will discourage "wealth creators" and hamper the economy.
"Redistribution appears generally benign in terms of its impact on growth," the IMF writes. "Thus the combined direct and indirect effects of redistribution—including the growth effects of the resulting lower inequality—are on average pro-growth."
The growing chorus against inequality, from across the political and economic spectrum, has thrust it into the centre of public debate, as economists, politicians and pontiffs point out how dangerous the staggering rise in inequality is to the economy and how it needs to be solved.
As former energy secretary Huhne warns: "If the others wake up to what is really going on, conservative parties are going to have a big electoral problem."
17 Facts About Popes And Saints
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There are currently about 10,000 saints on the church’s official roster. The process of canonization is a way that the Catholic Church formally declares that a soul is in heaven and worthy of veneration and emulation by the faithful. (credit:WikiMedia)
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Of the 266 popes, 83 (including John XXIII and John Paul II) have been made saints; almost all of them were canonized in the first millennium of Christianity. (credit:WikiMedia)
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Among the last 10 deceased popes, only Leo XIII (1878-1903), Benedict XV (1914-1922), and Pius XI (1922-1939) are not saints or are not being considered for sainthood. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (2005-2013) can’t be considered since he’s still alive. The seven others are saints or are in the canonization pipeline. (credit:WikiMedia)
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The only pope from the church’s first five centuries who was not canonized was Liberius (352-366), who initially condemned Athanasius, the theologian behind the Nicene Creed that expounds the basics of the Christian faith. (credit:WikiMedia)
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In the early church, saints were sometimes proclaimed by popular acclamation, much as the crowds of mourners tried to do at the funeral of John Paul II in 2005. (credit:WikiMedia)
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There is a five-year waiting period before a cause for canonization can begin, although a pope can waive that requirement, as Benedict XVI did for John Paul II. (credit:AP)
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In 1234, Pope Gregory IX gave the papacy the final say over whether a dead person who was venerated locally could be officially recognized as a saint by the church. (credit:WikiMedia)
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In 1642, Pope Urban VIII issued decrees that centralized control over the canonization process in Rome. The reforms were partially a response to Protestant reformers who had criticized abuses in the process and the trade in relics associated with saints. (credit:WikiMedia)
(09 of17)
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As Rome and the popes took over the canonization process, the number of clerics made saints declined. The popes were more likely to canonize women, who had reputations as healers and miracle workers. (credit:WikiMedia)
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There are three basic steps to formal sainthood: First, a formal inquiry is opened and if a person’s “heroic virtues” are initially confirmed the candidate is called “venerable.” Beatification, usually by the pope, is the second step and the candidate is called “blessed.” Canonization is the third and final step, when a candidate is formally declared a saint. (credit:Getty Images)
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The sainthood process remained largely unchanged until John Paul II approved revisions in 1983; the biggest change was to eliminate the “devil’s advocate,” who was charged with trying to poke holes in a person’s sanctity. (credit:WikiMedia)
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Two miracles are generally required for canonization, although the pope can dispense with that requirement, as Francis is doing in canonizing John XXIII, who was credited with just one miracle. (credit:WikiMedia)
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Nearly all miracles are unexplained medical cures, and they are verified by a panel of medical and scientific experts — not all of them Catholic — who must affirm that there was no possible natural cause for the cure. The cures are usually instantaneous. (credit:Getty Images)
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Martyrs who are killed for their faith can be declared saints with just one miracle. (credit:WikiMedia)
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John Paul II is being canonized just nine years after his death, the fastest a pontiff has ever been made a saint. (credit:WikiMedia)
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Others have been made saints more quickly: St. Anthony of Padua was canonized in 1232, less than a year after his death, and St. Francis of Assisi was canonized 20 months after his death. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431 but was not canonized until 1920. Other popular saints, including St. Patrick, were canonized before their was an official process. (credit:WikiMedia)
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Pope Francis has sought to rein in the costs of a canonization, which can run up to $1 million for the entire process. (credit:Getty Images)