(CNN)Taking his eco-friendly message to the masses, Pope Francis called for a new system of global justice based on human rights and care for the environment rather than economic profits.
"The goods of the Earth are meant for everyone," the Pope said, "and however much someone may parade his property, it has a social mortgage."
Francis' call for environmental protection, a prevalent theme in his papacy, came on the second full day of his weeklong tour of South America. He was speaking to a group of civic leaders and indigenous people at San Francisco Church in Quito, Ecuador's capital city.
Later this week, Francis will visit Bolivia and Paraguay. Like Ecuador, both countries are home to vast natural resources but also problems like deforestation, pollution and widespread poverty.
In recent months, indigenous groups have protested Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, saying that his promotion of drilling and mining near the Amazon rainforest could ruin their ancestral homeland.
On Tuesday night, the Pope left little doubt about whose side he takes.
"The tapping of natural resources, which are so abundant in Ecuador, must not be concerned with short-term benefits," Francis said.
Source:
Pope Francis says the rich shouldn't rule the world - CNN.com
He really is a pope for the changing times!!!