"On Love For the Poor"

 

"I share the desire of my beloved predecessor that all Christians come to appreciate the close connection between Christ's love and his summons to care for the poor" [Dilexit Te, 3]. So writes Pope Leo XIV early in his first Apostolic Exhortation, entitled Dilexit Te (cf. Revelation 3:9 - "I have loved you."), which is, in some sense, a sequel to Pope Francis final encyclical Dilexit Nos, on the Sacred Heart. At the end of his pontificate, Pope Francis had been preparing an Apostolic Exhortation on the Church's care for the poor. In continuing Pope Francis' effort, Pope Leo here has happily made that document his own. The Exhortation was signed by Pope Leo on October 4, the feast of Saint Francis, and released today.

In the typical manner of such papal documents, Leo addresses the issue as it is treated in Scripture, especially in the life and ministry of Jesus, and then throughout the history of the Church, through the words and actions of significant saints and other Church figures and institutions.

At the outset, the Pope identifies "the many forms of poverty: the poverty of those who lack material means of subsistence, the poverty of those who are socially marginalized and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities, moral and spiritual poverty, cultural poverty, the poverty of those who find themselves in a condition of personal or social weakness or fragility, the poverty of those who have no rights, no space, no freedom" [DT, 9].

He recognizes  how "Some economic rules have proved effective for growth, but not for integral human development. Wealth had increased but together with inequality" [DT, 13]. Reflecting then on the New Testament testimony, he quotes Pope Francis that God's word's message is "so clear and direct, so simple and eloquent, that no ecclesiastical interpretation has the right to relativize it. The Church's reflection on these texts ought not to obscure or weaken their force, but urge us to accept their exhortations with courage and zeal" [DT, 31].

Examples of the Church's historical luminaries cited include Saint Ignatius of Antioch: "But consider those whoa re of a different opinion with respect to the grace of Christ, which has come to us, how opposed they are to the will of God. They have no regard for love, no care for the widow, or the orphan, or the oppressed, of the bond, or of the free, of the hungry of of the thirsty" [DT, 39].  Himself a son of Saint Augustine, he asserts that "fidelity to Augustine's teaching require snot only the study of his works, but also a readiness to live radically his call to conversion, which necessarily includes the service of charity" [DT, 47]. Perennially relevant is Benedictine monastic hospitality which today "remains a sign of a Church that opens its doors, welcomes without asking and heals without demanding anything in return" [DiT, 55].

Of particular contemporary significance are the Pope's words on migration and migrants. "The history fo migration accompanies the history of the People of God. ... The Church's tradition of working for and with immigrants continues, and today this service is expressed initiatives such as refugee reception centers, border missions and the efforts of Caritas Internationalis and other institutions" [DT 73-75]. He quotes Pope Francis: "migrants and refugees do not only represent a problem to be solved, but are brothers and sisters to be welcomed, respected and loved. They are an occasion that Providence gives to help build a mor ejust osciety, a more perfect democracy, a more united country, a more fraternal world and a more open and evangelical Christian community" [DT, 75].

Recalling the development of contemporary Catholic social teaching, Leo cites Vatican II's Gaudium et Spes, which "forcefully reaffirms the universal destination  earthly goods and the social funciton of property that derives from it" [DT 86].

Finally, following Francis, Leo notes that "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. Yet we must never forget that religion, especially the Christian religion, cannot be limited to the private sphere, as if believers had no business making their voice heard with regard to problems affecting civil society and issues of concern to its members" [DT 112].

This Apostolic Exhortation On Love for the Poor is address "To All Christians," to whom he addresses this concluding admonition: "Trough your work, your efforts to change unjust social structures. or your simple, heartfelt gesture of closeness and support, the poor will come to realize that Jesus' words are addressed personally to each of them: 'I have loved you' (Rev 3:9)" [DT, 121].