Pope Leo in ‘Dilexi te’: Faith Cannot be Separated from Love for the Poor

Following in the footsteps of his predecessors

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

The ‘faces’ of poverty

Pope Leo’s Exhortation offers numerous points for reflection and calls for action in its analysis of the many “faces of the poor and of poverty”, including “the poverty of those who lack material means of subsistence” or “who are socially marginalized and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities” (9).

Pope Leo also notes the existence of moral, spiritual, and cultural poverty; the poverty of “those who have no rights, no space, no freedom” (9).

Inequality and new forms of poverty

Confronted with this reality, Pope Leo says that although “the commitment to the poor and to removing the social and structural causes of poverty has gained importance in recent decades… it remains insufficient” (10).

He warns of the emergence of new, sometimes “more subtle and dangerous” forms of poverty, and decries economic “rules” that increase wealth for a few but also increase inequality (10, 13).

“I can only state once more that inequality ‘is the root of social ills’” (94)

• Read the complete article here
• Read the exhortation in full here

Source: Vatican News