Pope Leo Criticises High, Elon Musk-style Corporate Pay Packages

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Huff Post/Reuters

Sep 14, 2025, 10:13 PM EDT


VATICAN CITY, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Pope Leo criticised corporate pay packages that offer executives much higher salaries than their employees in excerpts from his first media interview released on Sunday, citing Tesla’s recent $1 trillion compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk.

Leo, originally from Chicago, also spoke about the United Nations, his decades working as a missionary in Peru, how he has been adapting to the role of pope, and his hopes for peace in the bloody, three-year conflict between Ukraine and Russia. He has shown a more reserved style than his predecessor Pope Francis, who often gave interviews, and prefers to speak from prepared texts. Sunday’s excerpts were released on the Catholic news site Crux.

“CEOs that 60 years ago might have been making four to six times more than what the workers are receiving … 600 times more (now),” Leo said in the interview, conducted at the end of July for a coming biography. “Yesterday (there was) the news that Elon Musk is going to be the first trillionaire in the world,” he said. “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.”

Leo, elected the first U.S. pope by the world’s cardinals in May to replace Francis, criticized the UN as no longer being able to foster effective multilateral diplomacy.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pope-leo-elon-musk-corporate-pay_n_68c773f4e4b0f43001e0d2e1?origin=home-whats-happening-unit

[OldBaldy1701E]

1. Yeah, like anyone in this country is going to listen to that.

THAT is our god and greed is our religion.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Many in the Latino community who voted for 45

are Catholics and DO listen to "El Papa".

[OldBaldy1701E]

3. With all due respect, I spent almost ten years working in a catholic school.

The majority are not anywhere near as 'devoted' as they make out to be during Mass, or other services.

Hell, I once saw a guy being all 'pious' during a service only to go outside and start screaming at some elderly lady because she was not driving fast enough. And, I will not go into the time I overhead a priest saying how he wanted certain homeless people to be 'locked up forever'.

'Proper Catholics' indeed.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. With all due respect, we are talking Latinos

and I subbed in schools here in Philly where the neighborhoods and most of the schools were either majority Latino or majority black, and it is woven into the culture.

We're not talking white RW-loon tele-evangelical stuff. It's more visceral than that.

There is a problem in this country understanding how POC in this country operate and maneuver their way through this society, and it's obviously a problem here on DU as well.

[OldBaldy1701E]

5. You say that as if none of the people I was referring to were POC.

Some were.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. I am a POC

my sister's oldest (who is 34) spent 12 years in public, predominately BLACK Catholic schools, and my other sister's son has spent his elementary years in a PRIVATE, predominately minority (they must have a dozen nationalities there) Catholic school.

The irony is, we grew up in the Episcopal church but their husbands were Catholic.

Again, unless you are a POC, you just wouldn't be able to understand it.

[OldBaldy1701E]

8. Me too.

I was raised as a 'whiskeypalian' as well. (The common nickname for that denomination where I am from. Back in the day, our youth group was called 'The Turnips'. That was because the church was next to a field of them that year. We decided that while eating hotdogs and listening to Meatloaf's 'Bat Out Of Hell'. My brother was an alter boy. We had four of them in rotation. You could tell which one it was by the amount left in the Sandeman Madeira bottle after they prepped for communion. I do miss those days, I have to say. My 'faith' vanished not long after that time. Long story for another time.)

You are correct that I will not understand what it was like growing up as you did.

But, based on how I was raised as a poor kid who knew he was gay from an early age (even if I did not know the terminology for it), who had talents in performance and electronics, and having to grow up in a Southern farming town of 493 (one of the bigger towns in the area), I can relate and empathize with both being persecuted and ostracized (thanks to my Taurean nature). I hope that this is not insulting to you, as I don't intend it that way. But, oppression is oppression, irregardless of the particulars, and common ground exists for all who are looked down on or ostracized for ridiculous reasons. Which is why we do so in places like here. And, why I am partial to your insights and wisdom, for which I am grateful.

Also, my point was that there is a type of 'Dunning-Kruger' effect when it comes to the religious. I found the same type of behavior when I interacted with performers as well. Mainly, that the louder they are about levels of prowess and professionalism, the more often they criticize others and defend themselves and their chosen without consideration, the less they actually practice the tenets they preach. The more political and vocal they are about their faith, the less they seem willing to hold the foundations of said faith in reality.

Now, this has been my experience. Yours may be different. And, that is great. But, that was my point.

They may say that they are listening...

But, the only proof that we will have is if they are actually living,as stated, 24/7. Otherwise, it is not a statement of faith.

It is an act.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. I think some of the problem is

that in many of these households, the "elders" (grandparents and great-grandparents, as you have a number of multi-generational living arrangements) become very (and sometimes overly) "religious", and some of that will penetrate. But other times it is rejected and even rebelled against.

But those elders still become a "constant reminder" of what is supposed to be "moral" and "immoral" and will put that guilt trip on their younger family members, and if one hears the same "sayings" continually, one eventually starts repeating them as they grow older (and finally understand the point).

So I think since there is a strong "human nature" tendency towards being "immoral", entities like "the church" (whichever one) attempted to reign that in (although often hypocritically engaging in the very practices that are ranted against). But the "overlay" is still there in the psyche.

[OldBaldy1701E]

13. Yes indeed. (n/t)

[2na fisherman]

7. Holier than thou (Isaiah 65:5)

"The exact net worth of the Catholic Church is nearly impossible to calculate due to its decentralized financial structure and lack of public disclosure, but its assets are estimated to be in the tens to hundreds of billions, or even trillions, of dollars." (Google)
Pope Leo is right to point out the fact that income inequality is a kind of evil. Instead of the church asking the faithful for donations and benefitting from their tax exempt status, they should be liquidating all their art treasures and real estate and preach "it's better to give than to receive." The Pope's pronouncements would have far greater credibility. What about feeding the poor and housing the homeless? And no, agencies like Catholic Charities is just a drop in the bucket when compared to the above. I don't deny the power of the church to do good works or doubt the Pope's ideals. It's easy to criticize worldly corporate greed as sinful, but not that which lies concealed beneath hallowed halls and robes. And yes, there was once a time when I could have been burned at the stake for saying such things because there was something called The Inquisition. And these days it seems like it's coming back. Just sayin'.

[CTyankee]

9. there was a movie about a Pope who did sell off the art treasures of the Vatican to help the poor.

I think he was played by Anthony Quinn. It was a terrific movie. I've seen it a couple of times on movie channels.

[LudwigPastorius]

10. What a commie!

He and that Jewish carpenter guy he works for!

[Torchlight]

12. It's a well-crafted message

“The totally new aspect to this job is being thrown onto the level of world leader,” said the pope. “I’m learning a lot and feeling very challenged, but not overwhelmed. On that one I had to jump in on the deep end of the pool very quickly.”

I'm guessing that too, was a well-crafted left-hand comment about Messrs. trump and putin.