I keep coming across critics of Pope Francis' thoughts on free markets in Evangelii Gaudium. If you are interested, I linked it here. If you are only interested in the part that talks about free markets, read 202-208. But the entire apostolic exhortation is beautiful.
Even though he only touches on free markets in 7 out of the 288 paragraphs, that is what I see most discussed with praise or criticism. The majority of his exhortation is about spreading the good news of the gospel (i.e., stop talking about the gospel and start living it... don't 'boo' when someone mentions the Golden Rule and stuff).
What I got from reading those paragraphs was that the Pope thinks the free market is not sufficient for helping the poor and vulnerable. He has a point. Globalization (free markets) has helped raise 1 billion out of extreme poverty in 20 years, but that happened as a result of purposeful human action. Companies moved their factories to poorer countries, raising the standard of living for those in extreme poverty etc.
The free market isn't a design, it is a vehicle by which entrepreneurs, investors, consumers and workers can voluntarily interact. But Pope Francis doesn't see it this way, probably because he thinks it's cronyism (EFW index ranks Argentina as one of the least economically free countries).
Help the poorest and most vulnerable in our society by living out your faith. That's the point Pope Francis was trying to get across.
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