For Pope Leo, it is important “to continue to remind ourselves of the potential that humanity has to overcome the violence and the hatred that is just dividing us more and more.”
Recognizing that we live in times of polarization – especially after the crisis of 2020, and also in times of lost values – Pope Leo says: “The value of human life, of the family, and the value of society. If we lose the sense of those values, what matters anymore?”
He also points to “the continuously wider gap between the income levels of the working class and the money that the wealthiest receive.”
The Pope notes that “CEOs that 60 years ago might have been making four to six times more than what the workers are receiving, the last figure I saw, it’s 6,600 times more than what average workers are receiving.”
On this point, the Pope says he also read that Elon Musk, American entrepreneur and founder of Tesla and SpaceX, will be the world’s first trillionaire: “What does that mean and what's that about? If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we're in big trouble…”
When the quote is taken in full context, Pope Leo, is talking more about valuing other things in life, instead of just material wealth, which is exactly what Jesus says in the Bible (e.g. https://www.esv.org/verses/Luke+12:15/). See below (source: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-09/the-pope-let-us-overcome-hatred-and-violence.html):