In the first peace message of his pontificate, Pope Francis criticized mega-salaries and big bonuses, calling them symptoms of an economy based on greed, Reuters reported.
An economy based on inequality and greed is cause for serious concern, Pope Francis said on Thursday.
"The grave financial and economic crises of the present time ... have pushed man to seek satisfaction, happiness and security in consumption and earnings out of all proportion to the principles of a sound economy," he said.
On the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Peace, marked by the Church around the world on Jan. 1, the Pope's message was a call for more sharing of wealth among people and nations to lessen the gap between the rich and poor, Reuters reported.
"The succession of economic crises should lead to a timely rethinking of our models of economic development and to a change in lifestyles," he said.
Named Time Magazine's Person of the Year on Wednesday, Pope Francis has urged his own church to be more fair, frugal and less pompous and to be closer to the poor and suffering, according to Reuters.
Titled "Fraternity, the Foundation and Pathway to Peace," his message will be sent to national leaders, international organizations such as the United Nations, and NGOs. The message also attacked injustice, human trafficking, organized crime and the weapons trade as obstacles to peace.
The new pope's style is characterized by frugality. Pope Francis refused the spacious papal apartment in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace and chose to live in a small suite in a Vatican guest house. He prefers a Ford Focus to the traditional pope's Mercedes, Reuters reported.
A supporter of the oppressed, he visited the island of Lampedusa in southern Italy in July to pay tribute to hundreds of migrants who had died crossing the sea from North Africa.
