--- description: Pope Francis called on heads of states attending the annual G20 meeting in Australia to take concrete steps to alleviate unemployment. title: Pope Francis Warns G20 of 'Unbridled Consumerism' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta374ac9124e1f261/698768900b72e3086a6dbe44/458848548.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [The Vatican](/tag/the-vatican/) ## The Vatican Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Pope Francis Warns G20 of Effect of 'Unbridled Consumerism' ## Video: Pope Asks Forgiveness from Sexual Abuse Victims for Clergy's 'Sins of Omission' [Watch (HLS stream): Pope Asks Forgiveness from Sexual Abuse Victims for Clergy's 'Sins of Omission'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aHCgH8hw.m3u8) (0:25)  _Published 2014-07-07. Pope Asks Forgiveness from Sexual Abuse Victims for Clergy's 'Sins of Omission'_  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 13, 2014 2:29 PM CUT  Pope Francis speaks during his weekly audience in St. Peter's square on November 12, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. During the event, the Pope asked the clergy to be humble, urging them to be understanding towards their communities and to avoid an authoritarian attitude. Pope Francis speaks during his weekly audience in St. Peter's square on November 12, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. During the event, the Pope asked the clergy to be humble, urging them to be understanding towards their communities and to avoid an authoritarian attitude.Franco Origlia—Getty Images  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 13, 2014 2:29 PM CUT Pope Francis [warned heads of states](http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2014/documents/papa-francesco%5F20141106%5Flettera-abbott-g20.html "undefined") attending the annual G20 meeting in Australia about the effects of “unbridled consumerism” and called on them to take concrete steps to alleviate unemployment. In a letter addressed to Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who is chairing this year’s G20 Leaders’ Summit which begins Sunday, the Pontiff called for its participants to consider that “many lives are at stake.” “It would indeed be regrettable if such discussions were to remain purely on the level of declarations of principle,” Pope Francis wrote in the letter. Pope Francis, who has made a habit of addressing the leaders of the G20 meetings, has often raised his concerns with the global economy. Last year, in lengthy report airing the views of the Vatican, he criticized the “idolatry of money” and denounced the unfettered free market as the “new tyranny.” In the letter published Tuesday, he said that, like attacks on human rights in the Middle East, abuses in the financial system are among the “forms of aggression that are less evident but equally real and serious.” “Responsibility for the poor and the marginalized must therefore be an essential element of any political decision, whether on the national or the international level,” he wrote. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3583418/pope-francis-warns-g20-of-effect-of-unbridled-consumerism/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3583418/pope-francis-warns-g20-of-effect-of-unbridled-consumerism/"},"headline":"Pope Francis Warns G20 of Effect of 'Unbridled Consumerism'","datePublished":"2014-11-13T14:29:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:25:00.701Z","description":"\"Responsibility for the poor and the marginalized must therefore be an essential element of any political decision\"","url":"https://time.com/3583418/pope-francis-warns-g20-of-effect-of-unbridled-consumerism/","keywords":["The Vatican","Australia","Economy","Pope Francis topic","Capitalism","G20"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta374ac9124e1f261/698768900b72e3086a6dbe44/458848548.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta374ac9124e1f261/698768900b72e3086a6dbe44/458848548.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pope attends His Weekly Audience St. Peter's Square","caption":"Pope attends His Weekly Audience St. Peter's Square","creditText":"Franco Origlia—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/the-vatican/","name":"The Vatican"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3583418/pope-francis-warns-g20-of-effect-of-unbridled-consumerism/","name":"Pope Francis Warns G20 of Effect of 'Unbridled Consumerism'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Pope Asks Forgiveness from Sexual Abuse Victims for Clergy's 'Sins of Omission'","description":"Pope Asks Forgiveness from Sexual Abuse Victims for Clergy's 'Sins of Omission'","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/aHCgH8hw/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-07-07T16:03:35.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aHCgH8hw.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3583418/pope-francis-warns-g20-of-effect-of-unbridled-consumerism/","duration":"PT25S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3583418/pope-francis-warns-g20-of-effect-of-unbridled-consumerism/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```