Pope Francis yesterday condemned the craving for material gains and power, telling an annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations that greed is destroying the Earth’s resources and aggravating poverty.

The spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics condemned the “grave offence” of economic and social exclusion, in his first speech to the UN General Assembly in New York.

“A selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged,” he said.

The first pope from Latin America, Francis has often criticised unbridled capitalism in the two years of his papacy. Yesterday, he had a high-powered audience at the UN, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary. This year’s General Assembly is believed to have attracted the highest number of leaders in United Nations history.

The Argentine Pontiff called on government leaders to ensure their people enjoy the minimum material means needed to live.n practical terms, this absolute minimum has three names: lodging, labour, and land,” Pope Francis said to applause.

Pope Francis, 78, called on government leaders to fight human trafficking and ban nuclear arms, and gave a grim warning about the future of the planet.

“The ecological crisis and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity can threaten the very existence of the human species,” said Pope Francis. In keeping with his reputation as a green pope, Francis has used a small Fiat car to get around Washington and New York during this week’s trip to the US. He ends his visit in Philadelphia tomorrow.

Later yesterday, Pope Francis led an inter-religious prayer service at the site of the September 11, 2001, hijacked plane attacks by Islamist militants that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.