This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the management and employees of the National Institute for Social Security (INPS).

The following is the Pope’s address to those present:

Address of the Holy Father

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Peace be with you!

Good morning to you all, welcome!

I greet the President, the Directors, and all of you, employees of the National Institute for Social Security, including those joining us online from local offices. You play an important social and institutional role, which calls upon you to address the needs of many vulnerable people through mechanisms for the fair distribution of wealth, with particular attention to critical situations. This gives you the opportunity to act effectively in promoting social responsibility that combines economic development with community cohesion, guiding decisions towards the common good.

There is a great deal of wealth in the world overall, yet the number of poor people is increasing. Many hundreds of millions of people across the globe are mired in extreme poverty and lack food, shelter, medical care, schools, electricity, drinking water and essential sanitation facilities. Yet disproportionate wealth remains in the hands of the few. It is an unjust situation, in the face of which we cannot fail to question and commit ourselves to changing things. There is no determinism that condemns us to inequality. At the root of these disparities is not a lack of resources, but the need to address solvable problems relating to their fairer distribution, to be achieved with moral integrity and honesty.

In this context, addressing people’s practical needs has always been a central concern of the Catholic Church, both in relation to the world of work and in providing aid to those in need.

Pope Leo XIII, in particular, referring to the condition of workers, explicitly emphasized the importance of social security and welfare, to “arrange for a continuous supply of work at all times and seasons; as well as to create a fund out of which the members may be effectively helped in their needs, not only in the cases of accident, but also in sickness, old age, and distress” (Encyclical Letter Rerum novarum, 58). And regarding support for the most vulnerable, he said: “If a family finds itself in exceeding distress, without any prospect of extricating itself, it is right that extreme necessity be met by public aid, since each family is a part of the commonwealth” (ibid., 14).

In more recent times, the Church’s focus on the welfare state model can be found in the encyclicals of Saint John XXIII, Mater et Magistra (1961) and Pacem in Terris (1963), where the right to welfare is expressly elevated to the status of a human right, as the right “to be looked after in the event of ill health; disability stemming from his work; widowhood; old age; enforced unemployment; or whenever through no fault of his own he is deprived of the means of livelihood” (Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris, 11). In the same magisterial tradition are Saint Paul VI’s Populorum progressio; Saint John Paul II’s Laborem exercens, Sollicitudo rei socialis and Centesimus annus – in the latter we find, among other things, a critique of welfarism (cf. no. 48) – as well as Benedict XVI’s Caritas in veritate.

This trajectory then leads to the social teaching of Pope Francis, particularly in the Encyclical Fratelli tutti, where the Welfare State emerges as a genuine universal right (cf. no. 110).

The model proposed is that of a system of solidarity-based security, founded on the principles of subsidiarity, social responsibility and human fraternity, always with the aim of directing welfare provision to enable everyone to lead ‘a dignified life through work’ (Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato si’, 128).

The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church expresses this as follows: “The principle of solidarity requires that men and women of our day cultivate a greater awareness that they are debtors of the society of which they have become part. … A similar debt must be recognized in the various forms of social interaction, so that humanity's journey will not be interrupted but remain open to present and future generations, all of them called together to share the same gift in solidarity” (no. 195).

In this regard, in Italy, your Institute must undoubtedly be recognized as a key actor, directing its efforts in various directions by implementing social security policies that foster growth and genuine social development, starting with the protection of the most vulnerable and investment in young people. For this reason, even in the face of the need to ensure the system’s sustainability, your commitment must always be directed towards safeguarding its fabric of solidarity and equity, both in terms of pensions and in supporting workers throughout their professional careers.

The working scenarios typical of the twentieth century have changed. There are many reasons for this: the financialization of business, the global outsourcing of production, high labour costs and, above all, rapid technological development, with the significant impact of artificial intelligence, the many – and in part unexplored – facets of which have yet to be analyzed and assessed. Career paths, which for a long time were largely linear, with jobs often held for life, are now characterized by greater precariousness and variability, with the growth of fixed-term, part-time, agency, on-call and often self-employed work arrangements, in the most varied and hybrid forms. This gives rise to new needs, with new responsibilities for the State and for the individual (cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 58), the fulfilment of which cannot but involve social security bodies, and the INPS in particular.

I would therefore like to conclude by recalling Pope Francis’ words to manager and employees of your Institute, just over ten years ago: “Do not forget mankind: this is imperative. Love and serve mankind with rectitude, responsibility, willingness. Work for those who work, and not least for those who would like to do so but cannot. … Support the weakest ones, so that no one may lack dignity and the freedom to live an authentically human life” (Address to Management and Staff of INPS, 7 November 2015).

Dear friends, I wish you all the best in your work! I assure you and your families of my remembrance in prayer, whilst I cordially impart my blessing to you.