Pope Scolds World Leaders on Global Economy, Climate Change

A humble yet forceful Pope Francis denounced a global economy "guided only by ambition for wealth and power," which harms the weak and the planet, calling upon an array of world leaders to set aside partisan and ideological interests in the name of "a higher degree of wisdom."

The spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics didn’t hold back at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York Friday, delivering a blistering attack in a low, unassuming tone. The 78-year-old pontiff leaders of democracies and dictatorships alike, urging sweeping reform of the way the world is ruled politically and economically, including bodies that dealt with recent crises such as the International Monetary Fund.