Progressive filmmaker Michael Moore claims Pope Francis told him capitalism is a sin and urged Moore to continue making his left-leaning documentaries.

In an interview with NBC's "Late Night" with Seth Meyers, Moore said he asked the Roman Catholic pontiff about his thoughts on income inequality, CNS News reported.

"It was an amazing moment, and I asked him if I could ask him a question," Moore said. "And he said, 'Yes.'"

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Moore said he asked: "Do you believe that an economic system that benefits the few, the wealthy at the expense of the many is a sin?"

The pope replied, according to Moore, "Si" in Italian.

Moore said he pressed further for clarity: "So you believe capitalism, the kinda – the capitalism we have now is a sin?"

The pope replied: "Yes, it is. The poor must always come first."

The filmmaker, who recently released the anti-Trump "Fahrenheit 11/9," said the pope then grabbed his hand and said, "Please, pray for me."

Moore said he replied: "I will, and please pray for me. And he said, 'No, you have to make more movies.' And I'm like, "'I just wanted a prayer.' He's like, 'No, you go back to – you go back work.' He has a sense of humor."

Hugo and me

Moore, along with a number of other prominent figures in Hollywood, was a big fan of the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, whose socialist policies have ruined the once oil-rich country, with more than 2 million having fled catastrophic shortages of food, fresh water, electricity and basic medicines amid record violent crime.

After meeting at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, Moore posted pictures of the two of them together in a tweet.

"Hugo Chavez declared the oil belonged 2 the ppl. He used the oil $ 2 eliminate 75% of extreme poverty, provide free health & education 4 all," Moore wrote.

Hugo Chavez declared the oil belonged 2 the ppl. He used the oil $ 2 eliminate 75% of extreme poverty, provide free health & education 4 all — Michael Moore (@MMFlint) March 6, 2013

No more successful system

While Moore's new film "Fahrenheit 9/11" paints a bleak picture of the Trump administration, the president Friday was celebrating new Labor Department statistics showing a decade-high increase in wagesmiddle and lower-class wages along with record-low Hispanic and black unemployment.

As many economists have pointed out, including the Foundation for Economic Education, hard statistics show that nothing has done more to lift humanity out of poverty than the market economy.

FEE points out that the number of people worldwide living on less than about $2 per day today is less than half of what it was in 1990.

The biggest gains have occurred in countries that have opened up their markets, such as China and India.

The Daily Wire bullet-pointed five statistics demonstrating that the expansion of free enterprise around the world has reduced poverty: