I am not in the custom of quoting religious leaders, being a secular Jew, but I am nonetheless impressed by Pope Francis’ advocacy on behalf of the poor and his critique of the unfettered market.

To clarify, I understand and believe in the values of a free marketplace of goods and services, but at the same time, I think that society has an obligation to make sure that the market is regulated sufficiently to prevent extremes of inequality.

A healthy society requires a balance of the private and the public sector. A society without a public sector would be (in my eyes) mean, nasty, and brutish for all except those at the very top of a pointy pyramid, for all, that is, except the top 1% or 10%. A society without a private sector concentrates far too much power in the hands of those who rule and fails (as we saw in the instance of the Soviet Union) to permit enterprise, individualism, and personal freedom.

And it is in that spirit that I here cite a short article about Pope Francis, who has emerged as a powerful voice on behalf of the world’s poor.

Pope Francis, the author writes, is critical of “a world that is about “competition and survival of the fittest.” It is a world “where the powerful feed upon the powerless.”

He questions “a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power.” He is concerned that this culture has produced global indifference. Society seems content to believe that poverty is somebody else’s problem. For him, the poor are not only exploited but excluded. They have become “the outcast, the leftovers.”

He hammers the injustice of growing inequality. He sees this income gap as a “result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace.” He speaks of the “sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system.”

He also speaks of growing world-wide corruption which is at least tolerated as the world eagerly seeks to serve the “interests of a deified market which become the only rule.” He specifically mentions “self-serving tax evasion,” and “the thirst for power and possessions,” as examples of the harmful corruption that abounds and knows no limits.”

As I reflect on the growing inequality in our society, where a very small number of people enjoy vast wealth while a vast number of people live in poverty, the words of Pope Francis ring true.

Yes, we need a marketplace where people buy and sell goods and services. But the marketplace should not make us indifferent to the losers, to those who cannot succeed in the competition to buy and sell.

A healthy society takes care of all its children and builds a culture where love, kindness, and compassion are valued more than the goods we acquire.

I guess that sounds radical, but I am no radical. I just want a better world for my children and grandchildren and yours too.