Pope Leo warns against exploiting nature, marginalising poor

Pope Leo XIV set the tone for his papacy on May 18 with a call to stop exploiting nature and marginalising the poor, before an audience that included US Vice-President J.D. Vance and tens of thousands of pilgrims.

- Christie Chiu

VATICAN CITY - Pope Leo XIV set the tone for his papacy on May 18 with a call to stop exploiting nature and marginalising the poor, before an audience that included US Vice-President J.D. Vance and tens of thousands of pilgrims.

Ten days after Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost became the first US head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, he celebrated his inaugural mass in St Peter's Square.

The 69-year-old began the day by making his debut tour in a popemobile, standing in the custom-made white vehicle and smiling, waving and blessing the cheering crowds at the Vatican.

In front of dignitaries including Mr Vance and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, he then gave a homily calling for the Church to be a transformational force in a world of division and hatred.

"In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the earth's resources and marginalises the poorest," Pope Leo said.

He vowed to face up to "the questions, concerns and challenges of today's world" and, in a nod to conservatives, he promised to preserve "the rich heritage of the Christian faith", repeatedly calling for unity.

Crowds chanted "Viva il Papa" (Long Live the Pope) and "Papa Leone", his name in Italian, as he waved from the open-topped popemobile ahead of his inaugural mass, which was attended by dozens of world leaders.

The new pontiff, who spent many years as a missionary in Peru, also warned against "closing ourselves off in our small groups".

"We are called to offer God's love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people," he said.