The state should redistribute economic benefits, Pope Francis told a meeting of senior United Nations’ leaders, including Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, on May 9.

UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (ceb) is the UN’s most senior coordination forum and includes the heads of all UN programs and agencies. It includes UN organizations like the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (unesco) and the UN Development Programme (undp), as well as the International Monetary Fund (imf) the World Trade Organization (wto) and World Bank, among many others.

The board meets twice a year, usually in the United States or Switzerland, but every 10 years or so it meets at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Food Program in Rome. The last time it met in Rome, in 2000, Pope John Paul ii addressed the board.

The pope apparently received a sympathetic reception during the private meeting, despite the church’s recent clashes with UN organizations over its handling of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, and its stance on abortion, homosexuality and contraception.

A contribution to this equitable development will also be made … by the legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the State. Pope Francis, May 9, 2014

According to text released by the Vatican , the pope devoted most of his speech to the economy. He focused on Christ’s encounter with the wealthy tax collector Zacchaeus, detailed in Luke 19:1-10. After his encounter with Christ, Zacchaeus announced he would give half his goods to the poor and make amends with anyone he had defrauded.

The pope used this example to encourage an awareness of and sensitivity to the needs of the poor. But in doing so, he went far beyond what is promoted in this passage in the Bible. Rather than encouraging individuals to have compassion on those less well off than themselves, he called for “the legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the State.”

This is a completely different kettle of fish and requires a big government with a large welfare state and a heavy tax burden. But it is also consistent with the pope’s other pronouncements on the economy. These kinds of statements have led to the pope being labeled a Marxist by some on the right.

But the pope’s economic philosophy, most heavily detailed in last year’s Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel) exhortation is rooted in Catholic social doctrine. In essence it is this: Marxism fails because it concentrates too much power with the national leaders. It gives them the capacity to do great evil and there is nothing to stop them. The pope believes capitalism avoids this, however, it is intrinsically selfish and fails to look after the poor. His solution is a strong, almost Marxist state with the wealth and power to take care of the poor. To prevent the national leaders from wielding their considerable power unjustly, the Catholic Church would also have major power. This way, the “good” of the Catholic Church prevents the national leaders from abusing their power. These benevolent rulers then make sure everyone is treated fairly.

Read More: “Much More Than an Economic Plan”

This is the economic system the church has long promoted (for what it looks like in practice, see our recent article “Church + State”). The pope is using the global economic crisis as an opportunity to give this old Catholic idea new life.

In a time of rising unemployment and inequality, it is an attractive vision. Capitalism and free market may have proved the most effective economic system for lifting poorer nations out of poverty man has ever invented, but it hasn’t fixed poverty, starvation and illiteracy. No wonder many are looking for an alternative.

Watch for the pope’s ideas to become increasingly influential. For more on exactly what the pope wants for the world economies, read the cover article from March’s print edition of the Trumpet “Much More Than an Economic Plan.”