Pope Leo in 'Dilexi te': Faith cannot be separated from love for the poor

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🗞️ Driving the news: Pope Leo XIV has issued his first Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi te (“I have loved you”), presenting a sweeping call for Christians to recognise Christ in the poor and to reject indifference to inequality
• Signed on the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the document develops themes central to Pope Francis’ pontificate, urging a renewed commitment to the Church’s preferential option for the poor, migrants, and marginalised communities

🔭 The context: Dilexi te continues the trajectory of recent Catholic social teaching, building on the work of John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis
• Pope Leo explicitly draws on Dilexit nos, Francis' final encyclical, and reaffirms that the Church’s identity is inseparable from its care for the poor
• The exhortation addresses systemic injustice, spiritual complacency, and the persistent dominance of economic ideologies that marginalise the vulnerable

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The Exhortation frames poverty as a multi-dimensional crisis — economic, cultural, moral, and environmental — linked to global inequality, the migration crisis, and extractive financial systems
• It critiques market ideologies and urges action on education, healthcare, and social participation
• In doing so, it reorients Christian responsibility towards structural change, calling for a transformation of values rather than charity alone

⏭️ What's next: The document is expected to shape Catholic pastoral priorities and influence global faith-based development networks
• Leo XIV’s explicit endorsement of structural reform and political engagement could energise Catholic social action, particularly through parishes, popular movements, and international Catholic aid agencies
• It may also provoke debate in Catholic political circles, especially over critiques of meritocracy, market autonomy, and elite-focused evangelisation

💬 One quote: “We have to state, without mincing words, that there is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor” — Dilexi te, §36

📈 One stat: Pope Leo XIV highlights that millions continue to die daily from lack of food and water, condemning this as a symptom of “a throwaway culture” and “an economy that kills” (§12, §92).

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