Pope Leo XIV takes on usury: inflation and debt become a papal battleground

Pope Leo XIV's warning: usury is no longer just a sin, it ruins families

The new pontiff has put his finger on the sore spot of everyday economics: usury doesn't just exploit families, it can subjugate entire peoples. The warning comes at a time when interest rates in Spain have returned to levels not seen since 2008, and inflation is eroding purchasing power without wages keeping up. The economic debate has peine with uncomfortable questions: what exactly is usury? Is 3% on a mortgage usury? Or is the real problem that central banks deliberately inflate the currency?

The classic definition clashes with modern reality

Traditionally, any interest charged on a loan without waiving the principal was considered usury. Today's laws tend to set far higher thresholds: in Spain, some revolving credit lines with interest rates above 25% have been struck down by the courts. But the Pope points to something deeper: when the cost of money becomes an instrument of domination, the economy stops being a game of supply and demand and turns into a debt trap.

Inflation: the silent tax nobody votes for

In parallel, a strand of economic analysis argues that central-bank-driven inflation is an even more pernicious form of plunder. "It destroys the poor and wage earners," the argument goes, while pushing savers into risky investments. The idea is not new: Father Mariana, a 16th-century Spanish cleric, already held that debasing the currency was a grave crime. Inflation, like taxation, hits hardest those with the least: the rich diversify, the poor bear the rising price of bread.

Taxes: a bigger theft than usury?

The comparison between taxes and usury has strained the analysis. While some argue that usury is avoidable — nobody forces you to take out a loan — taxes are compulsory and therefore a greater "theft." The counterargument is clear: taxes fund public services, however inefficiently they are often managed; usury, by contrast, only swells private profits. The debate remains open, with an uncomfortable fact: legal entities, which go neither to heaven nor to hell, keep practising usury without antiestéticar of divine punishment.

The clash between the papal condemnation and the reality of a financial system that needs credit to function leaves more questions than answers. What is clear is that the new pontiff has not come to please.