Pope Francis said his assertion in Bolivia on July 9 that “this economy kills” is something he believes and has explained in his exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel” and more recently in his encyclical on the environment. In the Bolivia speech to grass-roots activists, many of whom work with desperately poor people, the Pope described the predominant global economic system as having “the mentality of profit at any price with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature.”
Asked if he planned to make similar comments in the United States despite the negative reaction his comments have drawn from some US pundits, politicians and economists, Pope Francis said that now that his trip to South America has concluded, he must begin “studying” for his September trip to Cuba and the United States; the preparation, he said, will include careful reading of criticisms of his remarks about economic life.
