POPE LEO XIV published the first major teaching document of his pontificate on Oct. 9.
Dilexi te, which translates to “I have loved you,” is an apostolic exhortation that centers on Christian love for the poor.
“A Church that does not place limits on love, that knows no enemies to fight, but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today,” Pope Leo said in his letter.
In the five-chapter magisterial document, Pope Leo emphasized that caring for the poor is a duty and obligation of Catholics, not just part of the faith.
He said serving the poor should be accompanied by a change in mentality, shifting away from a comfortable life that causes people to focus on accumulating wealth, leaving the poor victims of a “throwaway” culture.
Echoing the late Pope Francis, Leo said people should emulate Christ, “who became poor, and was always close to the poor and the outcast.”
Leo set St. Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Order of Preachers, as an example of proclaiming the Gospel from a life of poverty.
“Free from the weight of earthly goods, the Dominican Friars were better able to dedicate themselves to their principal work of preaching. They went to the cities, especially the universities, to teach the truth about God,” the pope wrote.
He reminded Catholics that the poor are not only objects of charity, but can also be evangelists who can lead Catholics to conversion through their example of reliance on God.
“No Christian can regard the poor simply as a societal problem. They are part of our family. They are one of us,” he wrote.
Reflecting on almsgiving, the pope said the most important way to help the poor is to help them find a job, to lead a “more dignified life by developing their abilities.”
If that is not possible, almsgiving should remain a way to encounter and empathize with the poor.
“Christians must not abandon almsgiving… It is always better to do something rather than nothing. Whatever form it may take, almsgiving will touch and soften our hardened hearts. It will not solve the problem of world poverty, yet it must still be carried out…,” Leo wrote.
In a statement on Oct. 11, Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner III, O.P., Master of the Order of Preachers, said the theme of the exhortation echoes the Dominican preaching of evangelical poverty, integrity and credibility.
“Poverty is not merely about what we give up, but about how we live in solidarity and communion with others,” Timoner said.
Fr. Francisco Nicolas Magnaye Jr., a priest of the Archdiocese of Manila and minister of the new Ministry with Persons in Street Dwelling Situations (PSDS), said the pope’s exhortation is a call for meaningful encounters with the poor.
“It’s very clear, [that] we also learn a lot from the street dwellers. Sasabihin doon (Dilexi te) that the new center is on the margins. The real appreciation of what’s going on in life within society can be best viewed from the peripheries,” Magnaye said in an interview with the Varsitarian.
He said it is essential not only to speak of the poor, but to speak “with them, journey with them and learn from them.”
The Manila cleric said the poor should not just be recipients of help, but also be considered “evangelizers.”
“They are also our agents to effect great change, even with the way people look at the poor… Bilang people of faith, huwag tayong matatakot na bulabugin tayo ng mga mahihirap, to disturb us by their condition, by their faith experiences, and their faith journey. [It is] for our own conversion, not just for them,” Magnaye said.
The document, composed of 121 numbered paragraphs and approximately 20,000 words, is a continuation of the late Pope Francis’s unfinished exhortation.
Pope Leo signed Dilexi te on Oct. 4, coinciding with the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, who had called for the Church to renew its commitment to the poor.
