Pope Leo has declared that the United Nations can no longer resolve global crises, stating in his first interview since being elected that the international body “has lost its ability to bring people together on multilateral issues.”

The pontiff, who was elected in May, also expressed concern over the widening wage gap between the rich and poor, citing Elon Musk’s potential rise to trillionaire status as a worrying trend.

In an interview published on the Catholic news website Crux, the pope admitted that he was on a “huge learning curve” in his new role as a world leader and diplomat. He disclosed that he had come to realize the limitations of the United Nations in addressing wars and conflicts.

“In theory, the United Nations should be the place where many of these issues are dealt with,” he said. “Unfortunately, it seems to be generally recognized that the United Nations, at least at this moment in time, has lost its ability to bring people together on multilateral issues.”

He observed that direct, two-party negotiations are becoming more common to resolve disputes. “A lot of people are saying, ‘You’ve got to do bilateral dialogue’ to try and put things together, because there are obstacles in the way on different levels for the multilateral things to proceed.”

The pope, born Robert Prevost at Chicago, has made the plight of low earners a central theme of his papacy. He took the name Leo in honor of Pope Leo XIII, who advocated for workers’ rights in the 19th century.

Reflecting on this, he criticized the vast pay disparity between executives and workers. “For example, CEOs that 60 years ago might have been making four to six times more than what the workers are receiving, the last figure I saw, it’s 600 times more than what average workers are receiving.”

He specifically mentioned the Tesla CEO, whose company’s board has proposed a historic $1 trillion compensation plan for him. The pope noted he had heard that “Elon Musk is going to be the first trillionaire in the world.” He questioned the implications of such extreme wealth, asking, “What does that mean and what’s that about? If that is the only thing that has value any more, then we’re in big trouble.”

Mr. Musk’s auto company is also facing a class action alleging it discriminates against American citizens by favoring H-1B visa holders to reduce labor costs.

In the interview, the pope acknowledged the challenges of his new position. “The totally new aspect to this job is being thrown onto the level of world leader,” he said. “I’m learning a lot and feeling very challenged, but not overwhelmed. On that one I had to jump in the deep end of the pool very quickly.”

On a lighter topic, the pope was asked who he would root for if the United States plays Peru in next year’s soccer World Cup.

“Probably Peru and just because of affective bonds. I’m also a big fan of Italy. … People know I’m a White Sox fan, but as pope, I’m a fan of all the teams,” said the pontiff, who spent half of his ministerial life in Peru.

“Even at home, I grew up a White Sox fan, but my mother was a Cubs fan, so you couldn’t be one of those fans that shut out the other side. We learned, even in sports, to have an open, dialogical, friendly and not angry competitive stance on things like that, because we might not have gotten dinner had we been,” he said.