On the same day that Pope Leo XIV celebrates
the Eucharist in front of St. Peter’s with the tens of thousands who have
gathered for the Jubilee of Consecrated Life, the Vatican officially released
the Holy Father’s first Apostolic Exhortation,
Dilexi Te (Rev 3:9). The
exhortation is the successor and companion to Dilexit Nos, the fourth
and final encyclical from Pope Francis “On the human and divine love of the
Heart of Jesus Christ”. Reading the exhortation, it become clear why the Holy
Father signed the document five days prior on the feast of St. Francis of
Assisi: Dilexi Te leans heavily into the Franciscan framework of care
for the poor and the document continually cites examples of Pope Francis’
commitment to the poor.
Many of the themes are directly taken from Dilexit
Nos, Evangelii Gaudium and Fratelli Tutti, with Pope Leo
providing updated context to the needs of naming the sources of poverty and
inequality, working towards liberation and overcoming the culture of exclusion,
and differentiating between economic growth that frees and that which
imprisons. “The commitment to the poor and to removing the social and
structural causes of poverty has gained importance in recent decades, but it
remains insufficient. This is also the case because our societies often favor
criteria for orienting life and politics that are marked by numerous
inequalities. As a result, the old forms of poverty that we have become aware
of and are trying to combat are being joined by new ones, sometimes more subtle
and dangerous.” (Dilexi Te, SS10)