Pope Leo tells Argentina's leaders: authority is service, and growth must reach the poor

Pope Leo tells Argentina's leaders: authority is service, and growth must reach the poor.

Pope Leo XIV used his first address in Argentina on Sunday to set out what he expects of those who hold public office, telling the country's authorities, civil society and diplomats at the Palacio Libertad in Buenos Aires to put the common good ahead of short-term interests, Vatican News reported.

Arriving from Uruguay on the second leg of his South American journey, before continuing to Peru, the Pope said he came as Successor of Peter and as a pastor speaking to the whole nation. President Javier Milei was present for the speech.

“Authority is most authentic when it is exercised as service,” the Pope said, adding that leaders should act with prudence, recognize the limits of their power and direct their decisions to the good of the whole community. Democracy, he said, is strengthened through listening, careful words and a patient search for agreement with people who think differently.

On the economy, Pope Leo praised workers in agriculture, industry, business, schools and hospitals, and called for policies that create opportunity and encourage private initiative while making sure growth also reaches the disadvantaged. He named families facing an uncertain future, the unemployed, the elderly and people who work hard yet still struggle to pay their bills.

He also pressed the country on emigration. “A nation must seriously ask itself where it has failed when its young people have to leave their homeland to make their dreams come true,” he said, urging investment in education, vocational training, universities and research.

The Pope called for South American nations to cooperate against organized crime, human trafficking, drug and arms trafficking, and corruption, warning that “corruption undermines the confidence of citizens in their institutions.” He also urged protection of human life from conception to natural death, care for the sick and people with disabilities, responsible use of Argentina's natural resources, and careful ethical attention to artificial intelligence.

Vatican News said the speech was interrupted by applause several times. The Pope closed by recalling the commitment in Argentina's Constitution to “establish national unity,” praying that those who come after today's leaders “inherit a united homeland.”

Focus Plus Media is following Pope Leo's apostolic journey through Argentina and Peru. The full report from Vatican News is linked below.