{"id":25826,"date":"2025-10-11T11:29:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T18:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/?p=25826"},"modified":"2025-10-11T12:11:02","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T19:11:02","slug":"pope-leo-faith-cannot-be-separated-from-love-for-the-poor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/2025\/10\/11\/pope-leo-faith-cannot-be-separated-from-love-for-the-poor\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo: Faith Cannot Be Separated from Love for the Poor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(ANS \u2013 Vatican City) <\/strong>\u2013 Taking up Francis\u2019 desire \u201cthat all Christians come to appreciate the close connection between Christ\u2019s love and his summons to care for the poor\u201d, Pope Leo XIV issues his first Apostolic Exhortation, \u201cDilexi te\u201d, as a call to Christ\u2019s disciples \u201cto recognize him in the poor and the suffering\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Leo XIV\u2019s first Apostolic Exhortation sees the love of Christ incarnated in love for the poor, in caring for the sick, opposing slavery, defending women who experience exclusion and violence, making education available to all, accompanying migrants, charitable giving, working for equality and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilexi te<\/em><\/strong> (\u201cI have loved you\u201d, from Rev 3:9) unfolds in 121 numbered paragraphs spread throughout five chapters, and flows directly from the Gospel of the Son of God, Who in the very act of entering into our world through the Incarnation became poor for our sakes. At the same time, it reproposes the Church\u2019s social teaching, especially that of the past 150 years, as \u201ca veritable treasury of significant teachings\u201d concerning the poor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Leo XIV’s first Apostolic Exhortation, “Dilexi te”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following in the footsteps of his predecessors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this document, signed on 4 October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assis, Pope Leo situates himself firmly on the path laid out by his predecessors, including Saint John XXIII, with his appeal, in Mater et Magistra<\/em>, to wealthier countries not to remain indifferent to nations oppressed by hunger and extreme poverty (83).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saint Paul VI added his own voice with Populorum progressio<\/em> <\/em>and his appearance at the United Nations as an \u201cadvocate of the poor\u201d; as did Saint John Paul II, who consolidated the doctrinal foundations of the Church\u2019s \u201cpreferential option for the poor\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, Benedict XVI, in Caritas in veritate<\/em>, offered a more markedly political take on the crises of the Third Millenium; while Francis made care for the poor and solidarity with the poor one of the key themes of his pontificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Begun by Francis, completed by Pope Leo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Francis, who completed the work of Benedict XVI on the encyclical Lumen Fidei<\/em>, Pope Leo XIV took up the text of his immediate predecessor for his first major Magisterial document. Dilexi te<\/em> builds on the teaching of Francis\u2019 final encyclical \u2013 Dilexit nos<\/em>, on the Sacred Heart of Jesus \u2013 highlighting the \u201cclose connection\u201d between the love of God and love for the poor. \u201cIn the poor\u201d, writes Pope Leo, God \u201ccontinues to speak to us\u201d (5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Holy Father likewise recalls the theme of the Church\u2019s \u201cpreferential option\u2026 for the poor\u201d, an expression that arose in the context of Latin America (16). Pope Leo explains that this \u201c\u2018preference\u2019 never indicates exclusivity or discrimination towards other groups\u201d but instead emphasizes \u201cGod\u2019s actions, which are moved by compassion toward the poverty and weakness of all humanity\u201d (16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the wounded faces of the poor, we see the suffering of the innocent and, therefore, the suffering of Christ Himself\u201d (9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018faces\u2019 of poverty<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Leo\u2019s Exhortation offers numerous points for reflection and calls for action in its analysis of the many \u201cfaces of the poor and of poverty\u201d, including \u201cthe poverty of those who lack material means of subsistence\u201d or \u201cwho are socially marginalized and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities\u201d (9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Leo also notes the existence of moral, spiritual, and cultural poverty; the poverty of \u201cthose who have no rights, no space, no freedom\u201d (9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inequality and new forms of poverty<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confronted with this reality, Pope Leo says that although \u201cthe commitment to the poor and to removing the social and structural causes of poverty has gained importance in recent decades\u2026 it remains insufficient\u201d (10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He warns of the emergence of new, sometimes \u201cmore subtle and dangerous\u201d forms of poverty, and decries economic \u201crules\u201d that increase wealth for a few but also increase inequality (10, 13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can only state once more that inequality \u2018is the root of social ills\u2019\u201d (94).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The dictatorship of an economy that kills\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe claim that the modern world has reduced poverty is made by measuring poverty with criteria from the past that do not correspond to present-day realities\u201d, Pope Leo writes. From this point of view, he welcomes the fact that \u201cthe United Nations has made the eradication of poverty one of its Millenium Goals\u201d (13, 10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he says, there is a long way to go, especially in an era in which the \u201cdictatorship of an economy that kills\u201d continues to prevail; the wealth of the few continues to grow \u201cexponentially\u201d while the gap between rich and poor increases; and \u201cideologies that defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation\u201d remain widespread\u201d (92).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018throwaway culture\u2019, market freedom, and pastoral care of the elites<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this, Pope Leo says, indicates the continued existence of a \u201cthrowaway culture\u201d, sometimes \u201cwell disguised\u201d, that \u201ctolerates with indifference that millions of people die of hunger or survive in conditions unfit for human beings\u201d (96, 11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Holy Father condemns \u201cpseudo-scientific data\u201d used to support the claim \u201cthat a free-market economy will automatically solve the problem of poverty\u201d, as well as the idea that \u201cwe should opt for pastoral work with the so-called elite, since, rather than wasting time on the poor, it would be better to care for the rich\u201d to gain their assistance in finding real-world solutions for poverty (114).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIndeed, \u2018it frequently becomes clear that, in practice, human rights are not equal for all\u2019\u201d (94).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A change in mentality<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Leo thus calls for a \u201cchange in mentality\u201d that can free us from \u201cthe illusion of happiness derived from a comfortable life that pushes many people towards a vision of life centred on the accumulation of wealth and social success at all costs, even at the expense of others and by taking advantage of unjust social ideals and political-economic systems that favour the strongest\u201d (11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe dignity of every human person must be respected today, not tomorrow\u201d (92).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In every rejected migrant, it is Christ Himself who knocks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Leo also devotes ample space to the theme of migration, illustrating his words with the image of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy who in 2015 became a symbol of the European migrant crisis with the photo of his lifeless body on a beach. \u201cUnfortunately, apart from some momentary outcry, similar events are becoming increasingly irrelevant and seen as marginal news items\u201d, the Pope observes (11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, he recalls the Church\u2019s centuries-old work in favour of those forced to abandon their lands, seen in refugee reception centres, border missions, and the efforts of Caritas Internationalis and other institutions (75).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking. Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges. She knows that her proclamation of the Gospel is credible only when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome. And she knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community\u201d (75).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With regard to migration, the Pope adopts Francis\u2019 famous \u201cfour verbs\u201d: \u201cwelcome, protect, promote, and integrate\u201d. And he also borrows from his predecessor the description of the poor as \u201cnot only objects of our compassion, but teachers of the Gospel\u201d (79).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cServing the poor is not a gesture to be made \u2018from above\u2019, but an encounter between equals, where Christ is revealed and adored\u2026 Therefore, when the Church bends down to care for the poor, she assumes her highest posture\u201d (79).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women, victims of violence and exclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Holy Father likewise considers the current situation, recalling the countless people who die every day \u201cdue to lack of food and water\u201d (12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, we must not forget those women, the \u201cdoubly poor\u2026 who endure situations of exclusion, mistreatment and violence, since they are frequently less able to defend their rights\u201d, he adds, quoting Francis (12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The poor are not there by chance\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Leo XIV offers an in-depth reflection on the causes of poverty: \u201cThe poor are not there by chance or by blind and cruel fate. Nor, for most of them, is poverty a choice\u201d, he says. \u201cYet, there are those who still presume to make this claim, thus revealing their own blindness and cruelty\u201d (14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While recognizing that \u201camong the poor there are also those who do not want to work, perhaps because their ancestors, who worked all their lives, died poor\u201d, the Pope highlights that there are \u201cso many others \u2014 men and women \u2014 who nonetheless work from dawn to dusk, perhaps collecting scraps or the like, even though they know that their hard work will only help them to scrape by, but never really improve their lives\u201d (14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one of the main points of Dilexi Te<\/em>, Pope Leo insists that it cannot be said \u201cthat most of the poor are such because they do not \u2018deserve\u2019 otherwise, as maintained by that specious view of meritocracy that sees only the successful as \u2018deserving\u2019\u201d (14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideologies and political orientations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, Pope Leo observes, Christians themselves allow themselves to succumb to attitudes shaped by \u201csecular ideologies or political and economic approaches that lead to gross generalizations and mistaken conclusions\u201d (15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are those who say: \u2018Our task is to pray and teach sound doctrine\u2019. Separating this religious aspect from integral development, they even say that it is the government\u2019s job to care for them, or that it would be better not to lift them out of their poverty but simply to teach them to work\u201d (114).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almsgiving often disparaged<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A symptom of this mentality is the fact that the exercise of charity is sometimes dismissed or ridiculed \u201cas if [it] were an obsession on the part of a few and not the burning heart of the Church\u2019s mission\u201d (15). The Holy Father dwells at length on almsgiving, which in our day is \u201crarely practiced\u201d, and \u201ceven at times disparaged\u201d (115).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe Christians must not abandon almsgiving. It can be done in different ways, and surely more effectively, but it must continue to be done. It is always better at least to do something rather than nothing. Whatever form it may take, almsgiving will touch and soften our hardened hearts. It will not solve the problem of world poverty, yet it must still be carried out, with intelligence, diligence and social responsibility. For our part, we need to give alms as a way of reaching out and touching the suffering flesh of the poor\u201d (119).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indifference on the part of Christians<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along the same lines, the Pope acknowledges that \u201cat times, Christian movements or groups have arisen which show little or no interest in the common good of society and, in particular, the protection and advancement of its most vulnerable and disadvantaged members\u201d (112).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again quoting Francis, Pope Leo warns that if \u201cany Church community\u201d does not cooperate \u201cin helping the poor to live with dignity and reaching out to everyone\u201d, it will \u201crisk breaking down, however much it may talk about social issues or criticize governments. It will easily drift into a spiritual worldliness camouflaged by religious practices, unproductive meetings and empty talk\u201d (113).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to state, without mincing words, that there is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor\u201d (36).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The witness of saints, blesseds, and religious orders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast to this attitude of indifference, there is a world of saints, blesseds, and missionaries who, over the centuries, have embodied the image of \u201ca poor Church for the poor\u201d (110), from Francis of Assisi and his gesture of embracing a leper (7), to Mother Teresa, a \u201cuniversal icon of charity\u201d dedicated to the most destitute in India, who accompanied the dying \u201cwith the tenderness of prayer\u201d (77).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pope also recalls the witness of Saints including Lawrence, Justin, Ambrose, and John Chrysostom; as well as Saint Augustine, who stated: \u201cAnyone who says they love God and has no compassion for the needy is lying\u201d, a reference to 1 John 4:20 (45).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Leo points to the work of the Camillians for the sick (50), and of the women’s congregations in hospitals and nursing homes (51). He notes the welcome given to widows, abandoned children, pilgrims, and beggars in Benedictine monasteries (55); and recalls the Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, and Augustinians who initiated \u201can evangelical revolution\u201d through a \u201csimple and poor lifestyle\u201d (63); as well as the Trinitarians and Mercedarians who, fighting for the liberation of prisoners, expressed the love of \u201ca God who frees not only from spiritual slavery but also from concrete oppression\u201d (60).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe tradition of these orders did not come to an end. On the contrary, it inspired new forms of action in the face of modern forms of slavery: human trafficking, forced labour, sexual exploitation and various forms of dependency. Christian charity is liberating when it becomes incarnate\u201d (61).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The right to education<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking to the example of Saint Joseph Calasanz, who founded the first free public school in Europe (69), the Pope emphasizes the importance of educating the poor, which \u201cis not a favour but a duty\u201d (72).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChildren have a right to knowledge as a fundamental requirement for the recognition of human dignity\u201d (72).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The efforts of popular movements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the exhortation, the Pope also mentions the fight against the \u201cdestructive effects of the empire of money\u201d (81) by popular movements, led by leaders often \u201cviewed with suspicion and even persecuted\u201d (80). Popular movements, he writes, \u201cinvite us to overcome \u2018the idea of social policies being a policy for<\/em>the poor, but never with<\/em> the poor and never of <\/em>the poor, much less part of a project which can bring people back together\u2019\u201d (81).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The duty of making our voices heard<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the final pages of the document, Leo XIV reminds every member of the People of God of their duty to \u201cmake their voices heard, albeit in different ways, in order to point out and denounce such structural issues, even at the cost of appearing foolish or na\u00efve\u201d (97).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnjust structures need to be recognized and eradicated by the force of good, by changing mindsets but also, with the help of science and technology, by developing effective policies for societal change\u201d (97).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poor at the heart of the Church<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is evident\u201d, Pope Leo says \u201cthat all of us must \u2018let ourselves be evangelized\u2019 by the poor\u201d (102).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo Christian can regard the poor simply as a societal problem\u201d, he insists; rather \u201cthey are part of our \u2018family\u2019. They are \u2018one of us\u2019\u201d. And so, he says, \u201cour relationship to the poor\u201d cannot \u201cbe reduced to merely another ecclesial activity or function\u201d (104).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe poor are at the heart of the Church\u201d (111).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salvatore Cernuzio<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Vatican News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(ANS \u2013 Vatican City) \u2013 Taking up Francis\u2019 desire \u201cthat all Christians come to appreciate the close connection between Christ\u2019s love and his summons to care for the poor\u201d, Pope Leo XIV issues his first Apostolic Exhortation, \u201cDilexi te\u201d, as a call to Christ\u2019s disciples \u201cto recognize him in the poor and the suffering\u201d. Pope Leo XIV\u2019s first Apostolic Exhortation sees the love of Christ incarnated … Continuar leyendo Pope Leo: Faith Cannot Be Separated from Love for the Poor<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":10336596,"featured_media":25829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[299562,516714022],"tags":[35890],"class_list":["post-25826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-father","category-salesian-world-news","tag-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/salesianbulletin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/a77bc45a8750b48e4e16f104bb458f9b_xl.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p59ePG-6Iy","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10336596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25826"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25947,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25826\/revisions\/25947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}