Dilexi Te: The pope's cry to reclaim, restore Jesus' care for the poor

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixaba

Pope Leo XIV’s first teaching document, Dilexi Te, “I Have Loved You,” was released on Thursday, Oct. 9. In it he challenges people of faith to set aside self-centeredness, open their hearts, re-read the Bible and reclaim the “preferential choice for the poor.” This central teaching of Jesus Christ can renew both the church and society, he said.

Signed on Oct. 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, and recalling the teachings of Pope Francis, Leo observes that public attitudes toward poverty have changed.

“A few years ago, the photo of a lifeless child lying on a Mediterranean beach caused an uproar; unfortunately, apart from some momentary outcry, similar events are becoming increasingly irrelevant and seen as marginal news items,” Leo writes.

“In a world where the poor are increasingly numerous, we paradoxically see the growth of a wealthy elite, living in a bubble of comfort and luxury, almost in another world compared to ordinary people. This means that a culture still persists — sometimes well disguised — that discards others without even realizing it and tolerates with indifference that millions of people die of hunger or survive in conditions unfit for human beings.” 

To read the complete text of the 100-page document, published by the Vatican, click here.

The U.S. Congress of Catholic Bishops summarized Leo’s teaching via the Catholic News Agency, quoting Leo:

"I am convinced that the preferential choice for the poor is a source of extraordinary renewal both for the Church and for society if we can only set ourselves free of our self-centeredness and open our ears to their cry."

The pope reminded his readers of the Gospel of Matthew 25, which describes the judgment of Jesus' followers and the nations based on their care for the poor, the sick, prisoners and foreigners.

“Where the world sees threats, she (the church) sees children,” Leo writes. “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."

Secular news sources online included The Associated Press, which featured a long piece noting that Leo, as a young man, was an Augustinian missionary in Peru, where he worked among the poor.

“The fact that some dismiss or ridicule charitable works, as if they were an obsession on the part of a few and not the burning heart of the church’s mission, convinces me of the need to go back and reread the Gospel, lest we risk replacing it with the wisdom of this world,” Leo writes.