Pope Defends Workers’ Rights

Pope John Paul II, celebrating an outdoor Mass in a Venezuelan boom town, delivered an outspoken defense of Third World workers’ rights today and warned of a “frightening imbalance” between rich and poor.

The pontiff told factory workers and their families in Venezuela’s iron and steel capital that society’s idea of economic progress must be changed to ensure human dignity. Authorities had expected a crowd of about 500,000 people at the Mass but the turnout was considerably smaller.