Aug. 19 (UPI) -- In an address at the Vatican, Pope Francis said Wednesday the coronavirus pandemic is worsening global inequality and responses to the crisis, including a potential vaccine, must prioritize the poor.
In his General Audience, the Roman Catholic prelate said the pandemic has exacerbated "the plight of the poor and the serious inequality that reigns in the world," and urged that efforts focus on a "preferential option" for the impoverished.
Rather than a political or partisan statement, Francis said, favoring the poor "is at the center of the Gospel."
"How sad it would be if, for the COVID-19 vaccine, priority were to be given to the richest?" he asked.
The pope continued his recent themes of social justice. He said at last week's General Audience that personal individualism, selfishness and indifference caused by the pandemic are damaging human relationships and culture.
Wednesday, he cited what he called the "scandal" of sending economic help to industries "that do not contribute to the inclusion of the excluded, the promotion of the least, the common good or the care of creation."
Francis also advised against society returning to the "normal" of an economy focused on profits over people when the pandemic is over. Instead, he said, society should take inspiration from God's love to "conceive of and design an economy where people, and especially the poorest, are at the center."
