POPE DENOUNCES : ''DIN OF RICH FEW''

VATICAN CITY : Pope Francis railed against social inequality on Saturday, lamenting 'the din of the rich few' drowning out the voice of the needy, as he marked the second ''World Day of the Poor''.

At a mass attended by about 6,000  poor people at St Peter's Basilica in Rome, the people noted that ''injustice is the perverse root of poverty''.

''The cry of the poor daily becomes stronger but heard less, drowned out by the din of the rich few, who grow ever fewer and more rich,'' he said ahead of a lunch at the Vatican for 1,500 destitute people and their helpers.

The people then had a lunch of lasagna, mashed potatoes and tiramisu with the poor in the immense Paul VI Hall, which adjoins the Vatican Basilica and usually hosts people audiences and conferences.

The Vatican has also made available a team of doctors to provide free healthcare to the hospital.

Over 600 people were treated last year`at the first World day of the Poor, a tradition introduced by the pope. [AFP]