The document weaves together 150 years of Catholic social teaching with urgent contemporary challenges, urging believers to recognize Christ in the poor
Newsroom (09/10/2025, Gaudium Press ) On October 4, 2025, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Leo XIV signed his inaugural Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You,” from Revelation 3:19), a 121-paragraph, five-chapter call to action that places the poor at the heart of Christian discipleship. Rooted in the Gospel’s depiction of Christ’s Incarnation as an act of voluntary poverty, the document weaves together 150 years of Catholic social teaching with urgent contemporary challenges, urging believers to recognize Christ in the marginalized and to dismantle systemic injustices (5). Building on the legacy of his predecessor, Pope Francis, and inspired by the pontiffs of the modern era, Pope Leo presents Dilexi Te as both a continuation of tradition and a bold summons to confront new forms of poverty in a world marked by inequality.
A Gospel-Centered Call to Action
The exhortation opens with a theological foundation: Christ’s love, expressed through the Incarnation, compels disciples to love the poor and suffering as an extension of divine charity. “In the poor,” Pope Leo writes, “God continues to speak to us” (5). This conviction drives the document’s exploration of poverty’s many faces—material, social, moral, spiritual, and cultural—encompassing those lacking basic necessities, those silenced by marginalization, and those deprived of rights, freedom, or agency (9). The pope emphasizes the Church’s “preferential option for the poor,” a term rooted in Latin American theology, clarifying that it reflects God’s compassionate action toward all human weakness, not exclusionary favoritism (16).
Drawing heavily from Pope Francis’ final encyclical, Dilexit Nos, on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Dilexi Te completes a trajectory begun under Francis, who himself finalized Benedict XVI’s Lumen Fidei. Pope Leo’s text underscores the “close connection” between love for God and love for the poor, framing care for the vulnerable as an encounter with Christ Himself (5, 79). The document’s title, drawn from Revelation, serves as a divine pledge of love that Christians are called to emulate through concrete acts of mercy.
Continuity with Papal Predecessors
Pope Leo situates Dilexi Te within the Church’s robust social doctrine, tracing its evolution over the past century and a half. He invokes St. John XXIII’s Mater et Magistra (1961), which called on wealthier nations to address global hunger and poverty (83), and St. Paul VI’s Populorum Progressio (1967), which framed development as a moral imperative, reinforced by his historic UN address as an “advocate of the poor.” St. John Paul II’s contributions are noted for codifying the “preferential option for the poor” as a doctrinal cornerstone, while Benedict XVI’s Caritas in Veritate (2009) is lauded for its political critique of economic crises in the third millennium. Pope Francis’ pontificate, with its relentless focus on solidarity, serves as the immediate backdrop, particularly his critique of a “throwaway culture” that discards the vulnerable (96, 11).
Confronting Modern Poverty and Systemic Injustice
The exhortation offers a searing critique of contemporary economic systems, decrying a “dictatorship of an economy that kills” that concentrates wealth among a few while widening inequality (92). Pope Leo challenges claims that global poverty has decreased, arguing that such assertions rely on outdated metrics misaligned with current realities (13). He welcomes the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals targeting poverty eradication but stresses that progress remains inadequate (10). New, “more subtle and dangerous” forms of poverty—driven by economic rules prioritizing profit over people—demand urgent attention (10, 13).
The pope condemns ideologies that champion “the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation,” which he says perpetuate a “throwaway culture” that tolerates millions dying of hunger or living in dehumanizing conditions (96, 11). He also dismisses “pseudo-scientific data” claiming free-market policies automatically alleviate poverty, as well as suggestions that pastoral efforts should focus on elites to indirectly aid the poor (114). Instead, he calls for a “change in mentality” to reject the illusion that happiness stems from wealth accumulation at the expense of others, insisting that “the dignity of every human person must be respected today, not tomorrow” (92, 11).
Migration: Seeing Christ in the Rejected
Migration receives significant attention, with Pope Leo invoking the haunting 2015 image of three-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi, whose death on a Turkish beach briefly galvanized global attention. He laments that such tragedies have become “increasingly irrelevant” in public discourse (11). Affirming the Church’s centuries-long commitment to migrants—through refugee centers, border missions, and organizations like Caritas Internationalis—he adopts Pope Francis’ framework of “welcome, protect, promote, and integrate” (75). The Church, he writes, sees “children” where the world sees threats, building bridges where others erect walls. “In every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks,” he asserts, framing migration as a theological and moral imperative (75).
Women and the “Doubly Poor”
The exhortation highlights the plight of women, whom Pope Leo, quoting Francis, calls “doubly poor” due to their frequent subjection to exclusion, violence, and rights violations (12). Women, he notes, often lack the means to defend themselves, compounding their vulnerability in a world where millions die daily from hunger and lack of clean water. This focus underscores the document’s broader call to address intersecting forms of marginalization.
Debunking Myths About Poverty’s Causes
Pope Leo offers a nuanced reflection on poverty’s roots, rejecting simplistic explanations. “The poor are not there by chance or by blind and cruel fate. Nor, for most of them, is poverty a choice,” he writes, critiquing those who attribute poverty to personal failure or a meritocratic hierarchy that labels only the successful as “deserving” (14). While acknowledging that some may avoid work due to generational disillusionment—where ancestors toiled yet remained poor—he emphasizes the countless others who labor tirelessly, often in degrading conditions, with little hope of advancement (14). This analysis challenges prevailing narratives and calls for structural reforms over individual blame.
Reviving Charity and Confronting Christian Indifference
Charity, particularly almsgiving, is a recurring theme, with Pope Leo lamenting its decline and occasional ridicule as an outdated practice. “We Christians must not abandon almsgiving,” he urges, describing it as a transformative act that softens hearts and fosters solidarity, even if it cannot fully resolve global poverty (115, 119). He advocates for intelligent and responsible giving, noting that “it is always better to do something rather than nothing” (119).
The pope also addresses complacency within the Church, warning against Christian movements that prioritize doctrine or prayer over social action, risking “spiritual worldliness” cloaked in religious practices (112, 113). Quoting Francis, he cautions that communities neglecting the poor “risk breaking down” despite their rhetoric (113). “There is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor,” he declares, framing care for the marginalized as a non-negotiable expression of Christian identity (36).
Saints and Religious Orders as Models
The exhortation is rich with historical examples, celebrating saints and religious orders who embodied a “poor Church for the poor” (110). St. Francis of Assisi’s embrace of a leper (7) and Mother Teresa’s tender care for India’s destitute (77) are highlighted alongside early figures like Sts. Lawrence, Justin, Ambrose, and John Chrysostom, who linked love of God with compassion for the needy (45). The Camillians’ service to the sick, Benedictine hospitality to the marginalized, and the Franciscan, Dominican, Carmelite, and Augustinian embrace of simplicity are cited as models (50, 51, 55, 63). The Trinitarians and Mercedarians, who fought for prisoners’ liberation, are praised for addressing both spiritual and material oppression, a mission continued in modern battles against trafficking and exploitation (60, 61).
Education and Popular Movements
Education is framed as a fundamental right, not a privilege, with St. Joseph Calasanz’ establishment of Europe’s first free public school in the 16th century as a touchstone (69, 72). “Children have a right to knowledge as a fundamental requirement for the recognition of human dignity,” the pope writes, urging systemic efforts to ensure access (72).
Popular movements combating the “destructive effects of the empire of money” are also recognized, despite their leaders often facing suspicion or persecution (80, 81). These movements, Pope Leo notes, challenge paternalistic social policies by advocating with and for the poor, fostering inclusive projects that restore agency (81).
A Prophetic Duty
In its final pages, Dilexi Te calls every Christian to denounce unjust structures, even at the risk of appearing “foolish or naïve” (97). This requires both mindset shifts and practical action, leveraging science and technology for effective policy change. The poor, Pope Leo insists, must evangelize the Church, serving as “teachers of the Gospel” rather than mere objects of charity (79, 102). “No Christian can regard the poor simply as a societal problem,” he writes, affirming their place as family within the Church’s heart (104, 111).
Conclusion: A Church Transformed by the Poor
Dilexi Te is both a theological manifesto and a practical roadmap, urging the Church to embody Christ’s love through radical solidarity. By framing the poor as equals in whom Christ is revealed, Pope Leo XIV challenges believers to move beyond indifference, reject systemic inequities, and embrace a mission where “serving the poor” becomes the Church’s “highest posture” (79). As the pontiff concludes, the poor are not peripheral but central, demanding a Church that listens, acts, and is transformed by their presence (111).
- Raju Hasmukh
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