What Pope Francis Said in His Surprise TED Talk

Pope Francis had a message for the powerful in an unexpected talk aired at the TED conference Tuesday. "The more powerful you are, the more your actions will have an impact on people, the more responsible you are to act humbly," he said, per Reuters. The 18-minute talk, recorded in Vatican City and broadcast at the Vancouver conference, was in Italian with subtitles available in more than 20 languages, the BBC reports. "You will end up hurting yourself and those around you, if you don't connect your power with humility and tenderness," Francis said. "Through humility and concrete love, on the other hand, power—the highest, the strongest one—becomes a service, a force for good."

The pontiff called for an end to a "culture of waste" that considers people as well as goods to be disposable. "How wonderful would it be if the growth of scientific and technological innovation would come along with more equality and social inclusion," he said. Francis said many people seem to believe that "a happy future is something impossible to achieve," but their fears can be overcome "when we do not lock our door to the outside world." TED international curator Bruno Giussani says it took several trips to Rome to make the talk happen—and not many people in the Vatican knew about it. Other speakers this week will include Serena Williams and Elon Musk. (More Pope Francis stories.)