Pope Francis takes his message to squatters in Paraguay slum after railing against corruption as the 'gangrene of society'

  • Pontiff used a major speech in Paraguay to champion right of poor and followed it up with visit to flood-prone slum
  • On the final day of his three-nation South American tour, the Pontiff sought to offer a message of hope to squatters
  • He has railed about the injustices of global capitalist system and described corruption as the 'gangrene of society'
  • Pope invited gay rights leader to gathering of Catholic bishops, the first time this has happened during a papal trip

Pope Francis put into practice his call for the world's poor and powerless not to be left on the margins of society by visiting a flood-prone slum and insisting that the Catholic Church be a place of welcome for all.

On the final day of his three-nation South American tour, the Pontiff sought to offer a message of hope to the residents of the Banado Norte shantytown and to hundreds of thousands of people gathered for his farewell Mass on the same swampy field where St John Paul II proclaimed Paraguay's first saint nearly 30 years ago.

He said: 'How much pain can be soothed, how much despair can be allayed in a place where we feel at home?

'Welcoming the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the leper and the paralytic.' 

Scroll down for video 

Pope Francis put into practice his call for the world's poor and powerless not to be left on the margins of society by visiting a flood-prone slum and insisting that the Catholic Church be a place of welcome for all. He sought to offer a message of hope to the residents of the Banado Norte

Pope Francis put into practice his call for the world's poor and powerless not to be left on the margins of society by visiting a flood-prone slum and insisting that the Catholic Church be a place of welcome for all. He sought to offer a message of hope to the residents of the Banado Norte

The Pope told the residents: 'How much pain can be soothed, how much despair can be allayed in a place where we feel at home? Welcoming the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the leper and the paralytic'
He was on the final day of his three-nation South American tour

The Pope told the residents: 'How much pain can be soothed, how much despair can be allayed in a place where we feel at home? Welcoming the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the leper and the paralytic'

Greeting the crowd: The Pope waves to the thousands of people who gathered at Nu Guazu field to celebrate Mass in Asuncion, Paraguay

Greeting the crowd: The Pope waves to the thousands of people who gathered at Nu Guazu field to celebrate Mass in Asuncion, Paraguay

The Pontiff drew cheers when he arrived in Banado Norte on the banks of the River Paraguay on Sunday saying he couldn't have left Paraguay without visiting, 'without being on your land'

The Pontiff drew cheers when he arrived in Banado Norte on the banks of the River Paraguay on Sunday saying he couldn't have left Paraguay without visiting, 'without being on your land'

Pope Francis greets residents on his arrival at Banado Norte in Asuncion. He stopped off at the slum before ending his South American tour

Pope Francis greets residents on his arrival at Banado Norte in Asuncion. He stopped off at the slum before ending his South American tour

The Pope has emphasised care for creation and its most oppressed people during his tour of Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay. He drew cheers when he arrived in Banado Norte on the banks of the River Paraguay on Sunday saying he couldn't have left Paraguay without visiting, 'without being on your land.'

Many residents of Banado Norte are squatters on municipal land who have come from rural areas in the north eastern part of the country where farmland has been increasingly bought up by Brazilians and multi-national companies. Residents argue they should be given title to the land because they have worked to make it habitable with little help from the city.

Resident Maria Garcia told the Pope: 'We built our neighborhoods piece by piece, we made them livable despite the difficulties of the terrain, the rising of the river and despite public authorities who either ignored us or were hostile to us.' 

The Pontiff said he wanted to visit the neighborhood of shacks of plywood and corrugated metal to encourage the residents' faith despite the difficulties they encounter. Heavy rains regularly burst the Paraguay River banks and turn Banado Norte's dirt roads into impassable pools of mud.

Pope Francis said he wanted 'to see your faces, your children, your elderly, and to hear about your experiences and everything you went through to be here, to have a dignified life and a roof over your heads, to endure the bad weather and the flooding of these last few weeks.'

Some of the estimated 100,000 residents shrieked as the Pope walked by, reaching out to touch his white cassock and take a photo with their mobile phones.

Francisca de Chamorra, an 82-year-old widow who moved to the shanty in 1952, said: 'Now I can die peacefully. It's a miracle that a pope has come to this muddy place.'

Pope Francis has spent much of the past week - and before that much of his pontificate - railing about the injustices of the global capitalist system that he says idolises money over people, demanding instead a new economic model where the Earth's resources are distributed equally among all.

In a mostly improvised speech, he told a gathering of business leaders, politicians and other civil society groups on Saturday evening: 'Putting bread on the table, putting a roof over the heads of one's children, giving them health and an education - these are essential for human dignity, and business men and women, politicians, economists, must feel challenged in this regard. 

Thousands of Argentines crossed the border to see their native son, nearing the end of a 'homecoming' tour. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez was also at the Mass. One woman waves an Argentine flag

Thousands of Argentines crossed the border to see their native son, nearing the end of a 'homecoming' tour. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez was also at the Mass. One woman waves an Argentine flag

People gathered for his farewell Mass on the same swampy field where St John Paul II proclaimed Paraguay's first saint nearly 30 years ago

People gathered for his farewell Mass on the same swampy field where St John Paul II proclaimed Paraguay's first saint nearly 30 years ago

Pope Francis said he wanted 'to see your faces, your children, your elderly, and to hear about your experiences and everything you went through to be here, to have a dignified life and a roof over your heads, to endure the bad weather and the flooding of these last few weeks'

Pope Francis said he wanted 'to see your faces, your children, your elderly, and to hear about your experiences and everything you went through to be here, to have a dignified life and a roof over your heads, to endure the bad weather and the flooding of these last few weeks'

Pope Francis (pictured left on the right) holds Asuncion's Archbishop Edmundo Valenzuela during his Mass
He later put on a cap of 'Scholas Ocurrentes' signed by students at the end of a ceremony in the Banado Norte neighbourhood

Pope Francis (pictured left on the right) holds Asuncion's Archbishop Edmundo Valenzuela during his Mass. He later put on a cap of 'Scholas Ocurrentes' signed by students at the end of a ceremony in the Banado Norte neighbourhood

Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and Argentian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner attend the Mass led by Pope Francis

Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and Argentian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner attend the Mass led by Pope Francis

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered as Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Asuncion, Paraguay, on a field called Nu Guazu

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered as Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Asuncion, Paraguay, on a field called Nu Guazu

'I ask them not to yield to an economic model which is idolatrous, which needs to sacrifice human lives on the altar of money and profit.'

He said those charged with promoting economic development must ensure it had 'a human face' and he blasted 'the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose.'

He added: 'Corruption is the plague, it's the gangrene of society.'

The speech came after Francis made similar comments in Bolivia on Thursday where he urged the downtrodden to change the world economic order.

He denounced a 'new colonialism' by agencies that impose austerity programmes and calling for the poor to have the 'sacred rights' of labour, lodging and land.

After the speech and in a rare occurrence, the leader of a gay rights group took part in the gathering of 4,000 people at the invitation of local Catholic bishops.

Simon Cazal, director of SomosGay said: 'I left with the impression that the pope really wants to change things.' 

The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are not sinful but homosexual acts are. Catholic gays have contested the Church's ban on homosexual activity, saying it deprives them of the intimacy that is part of a loving relationship.

At a speech in Paraguay, attended by President Horacio Cartes, Pope Francis called corruption the plague and talked about human dignity

At a speech in Paraguay, attended by President Horacio Cartes, Pope Francis called corruption the plague and talked about human dignity

The Pontiff also called corruption the plague and described it as 'the gangrene of society', adding that everybody should help the poor 

The Pontiff also called corruption the plague and described it as 'the gangrene of society', adding that everybody should help the poor 

Thousands of people look on as Pope Francis arrives in Paraguay in the Popemobil on the third and final stop of his South American tour

Thousands of people look on as Pope Francis arrives in Paraguay in the Popemobil on the third and final stop of his South American tour

The Pope later led an outdoor Mass on Sunday evening ahead of his return flight to Rome. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez attended

The Pope later led an outdoor Mass on Sunday evening ahead of his return flight to Rome. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez attended

Pope Francis watches a dance performance during a meeting with representatives of civil society groups at Leon Condou stadium on Saturday

Pope Francis watches a dance performance during a meeting with representatives of civil society groups at Leon Condou stadium on Saturday

Catholic faithful gathered outside the Metropolitan Cathedral, which was illuminated in the colours of the Paraguayan national flag on Saturday

Catholic faithful gathered outside the Metropolitan Cathedral, which was illuminated in the colours of the Paraguayan national flag on Saturday

Saturday was believed to be the first time a gay rights activist was known to have been invited to attend an event during a papal trip. 

One theme of a major meeting of Catholic bishops at the Vatican in October will be how the Church can reach out to homosexual Catholics.

On his way to the gathering, the Pope made an unscheduled stop at a hospice for the terminally ill run by Italian priest Aldo Trento. 'He was very moved,' Father Trento said afterwards.

On Saturday morning, Francis visited the country's most sacred religious site, the shrine of the Madonna of Caacupe. 

It houses a statue of the Madonna said to have been carved by a Guarani convert to Christianity in the 16th century, when missionaries set up in the area.

Thousands of Argentines crossed the border to see their native son, nearing the end of a 'homecoming' tour. He has also warned of irreversible harm to the planet and walked among prisoners.

After meeting with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, who travelled to neighbouring Paraguay for Pope Francis' final Mass along with thousands of their Argentine countrymen, the Pontiff was due to meet with young people before flying to Rome on Sunday night.

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now