Pope: Unemployment causes grave harm to society, family

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis is denouncing a global labor market that is interested only in profit and warning that unemployment causes enormous damage to society and families.

Francis has been speaking out for months about different aspects of family life during his weekly general audiences. On yesterday, he focused on the "sacred" role that work provides families, materially and spiritually.

He said: "The modern organization of work often shows a dangerous tendency to consider the family a weight, a passive obstacle to productivity. But let us ask ourselves: What kind of productivity? For whom?"

Francis, who worked part-time as a teen-ager in Buenos Aires, has frequently highlighted the importance of dignified work.

He said employers have a great responsibility toward their workers, and that "causing job losses means causing grave social harm."