UK ambassador denies Pope is a Marxist

Pope Francis is not a Marxist and his ­economics should not be interpreted as ­anti-business, the UK Ambassador to the Holy See has said, writes Liz Dodd.

Nigel Baker was speaking the day after the Pope’s representative addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Mr Baker, who was appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2012, said in a post on his blog on the Foreign Office website that the Pope’s call in his apostolic letter Evangelii Gaudium to rethink global ­economic systems was an invitation to reorder priorities, not to overthrow capitalism. 

“No Marxist would say, as the Pope did in Evangelii Gaudium, that: ‘business is … a vocation, and a noble vocation, provided that those engaged in it see themselves challenged by a greater meaning in life’,” he said.

Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana read out a message from the Pope to the politicians and businessmen attending the annual economic forum in Switzerland on Monday.

In his message, Francis called on politicians to put human dignity at the heart of every political and economic decision and to prioritise the hungry, vulnerable people and migrants.

The Pope was invited to address the Davos gathering this year, which has taken the theme “The Reshaping of the World”. “The Holy See is not normally considered a Davos player. This year, things are different,” Mr Baker said.