On 4 October, Leo XIV signed his first Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi te — “I have loved you” (Rev 3:9), a text of 121 points inspired by the Gospel. It addresses topics such as moral commitment to those in need, recognition of the many forms of poverty (material, social, moral, etc.), the invitation to let go of a life that is intrinsically rich and successful, awareness that God is close to the poor, concern for the integral human development of the least, and the authenticity of works of mercy, among others.
It was Pope Francis himself who, in the months prior to his death, began working on the Apostolic Exhortation, which represents a continuation of Dilexit nos, the last encyclical of the Argentine Pope on the Heart of Jesus.
The “Faces” of Poverty
There are many reasons for reflection and impulses for action in the Exhortation by Robert Francis Prevost, which analyses the “faces” of poverty: the poverty “of those who lack material means of livelihood”, “of those who are socially marginalized and have no way to express their dignity and abilities”, the “moral”, “spiritual”, and “cultural” poverty, and that “of those who have no rights, no space, and no freedom” (9).
New Forms of Poverty and Lack of Equity
In view of this situation, the Holy Father considers “insufficient” the current commitment to eliminating the structural causes of poverty in societies marked “by numerous inequalities”, by the emergence of new forms of poverty “more subtle and dangerous” (10), and by economic systems that have increased wealth “but without equity”.
“Lack of equity is the root of social evils.” (94)
“The Poor Are Not There by Chance”
Leo XIV reflects deeply on the very causes of poverty:
“The poor are not there by chance or by a blind and bitter fate. Still less is poverty, for most of them, a choice. Yet there are still some who dare to affirm it, showing blindness and cruelty,” he underlines (14).
“Obviously, among the poor there are also those who do not want to work,” he adds, “but there are many men and women who collect cardboard from morning until night only to survive, and never to truly improve their lives.”
In one of the central points of Dilexi te, it reads:
“We cannot say that most of the poor are poor because they have not obtained ‘merit’, according to that false vision of meritocracy in which it would seem that only those who have succeeded in life possess merit.” (14)
Almsgiving, Often Despised
A symptom of this mentality is that the exercise of charity is sometimes “despised or ridiculed, as if it were the fixation of a few and not the burning core of the Church’s mission” (15).
Leo XIV spends much time on almsgiving — rarely practiced and often despised (115).
“As Christians, we do not renounce almsgiving. It is a gesture that can take different forms, and we can try to do it in the most effective way, but it must be done. And it will always be better to do something than to do nothing. In any case, it will reach our hearts. It will not be the solution to world poverty — which must be sought with intelligence, perseverance, and social commitment — but we need to practice almsgiving to touch the suffering flesh of the poor.” (119)
A Voice That Awakens and Denounces
In the final pages of the document, the Holy Father calls on the whole People of God to make heard, “in different ways, a voice that awakens, that denounces, and that exposes itself, even at the cost of seeming ‘foolish’.”
“Structures of injustice must be recognised and destroyed by the power of good, through a change of mentality, but also with the help of science and technology, through the development of effective policies for the transformation of society.” (97)
Ultimately, the Holy Father reminds us that the poor are not a social problem, but the very centre of the Church.
