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Fighting for social justice and the rights of the poor has always been the mission of the Catholic Church, long before communism was invented, Pope Francis said in an interview.

The Argentine-born pontiff often preaches against unbridled capitalism and greed, and has said that he would like to lead "a poor church, for the poor." This has led right-wing commentators in the United States to label him a Marxist.

"If I were to repeat some passages of the homilies of the first Fathers of the Church, from the second or third century, on how the poor should be treated, someone would accuse me of delivering a Marxist homily," the Pope told Italy's La Stampa newspaper.

"As you can see, this care for the poor is in the Gospel, it is in the tradition of the Church, it not an invention of communism and it should not be ideologised, as it has happened sometimes over the course of history."

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The pope stressed the importance of ensuring a fairer distribution of economic resources, noting that globalisation "helped many persons to emerge from poverty, but condemned many others to die of hunger."

He once again criticised the world's economic system as being based on a "culture of waste," which puts money before human beings. He said children, old people, unemployed youth and aborted foetuses were the victims of such a culture.

The interview was an extract from an upcoming book on Pope Francis by two La Stampa journalists. It was published on the day the pontiff led a special mass in the Sistine Chapel to baptise 33 babies - the offspring of Vatican City State employees.

On Monday, the pope is due to leave for an eight-day trip to Sri Lanka and the Philippines, his seventh international trip since he was elected in March 2013, and his second to Asia, a self-declared priority of his papacy.

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Caring for poor is not communism: Pope