Pope Francis varies his message of social justice for highly developed Singapore

He reminds nation not to lose sight of the marginalised amid achievements

- Wong Pei Ting

As with the earlier legs of his 12day Asia-Pacific tour, the message that Pope Francis had for Singapore delivered as always with a large dose of gentleness came down to two words: social justice.

In Muslim-majority Indonesia, he spoke about how senseless violence was a result of a lack of commitment in upholding social justice. In resource-rich Papua New Guinea, it was about the need for large corporations to share their spoils with local people.

The Pope's message in Catholicmajority Timor-Leste highlighted children and adolescents who have had their dignity violated through abuse, and the young in need of ideals to get out of the trap of alcohol.

In highly developed Singapore, the message crystallised into how there is always room for improvement, even as society holds social justice and the common good in high regard.

Instead of delving into the more pressing bread-and-butter issues heard elsewhere on the trip, the Pope's messages for Singapore looked at bringing depth to what the nation has achieved, by returning to first principles - the need to remember to love despite its economic prosperity.

During his state address on Sept 12, the 87-year-old Argentinian pontiff said: "I would like to highlight the risk entailed in focusing solely on pragmatism or placing merit above all things, namely the unintended consequence of justifying the exclusion of those on the margins from benefiting from progress." The head of state of Vatican City also called for special attention to be paid to the poor and the elderly, and to protect the dignity of migrant workers.

"These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage," the Pope said.

Dr Gillian Koh, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, noted that the Pope appeared to be saying that while Singapore is doing well, it could do even better.