Pope Leo released his first apostolic exhortation—a teaching document—in October. Dilexi Te builds upon a text started by Pope Francis, but what does it say?
We went through Dilexi Te (I Have Loved You) for you, for this Faith in 5.
5 Things to Know From Dilexi Te
1. Love for the Lord, then, is one with love for the poor.
This is not a matter of mere human kindness but a revelation: contact with those who are lowly and powerless is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord of history. In the poor, he continues to speak to us. (5)
2. One cannot love God without extending one’s love to the poor.
[T]he Lord himself teaches that every act of love for one’s neighbor is in some way a reflection of divine charity: “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). (26)
3. [T]he greater the love for the poor, the greater the reward from God.
Augustine puts the following words in the Lord’s mouth: “I received the earth, I will give heaven; I received temporal goods, I will give back eternal goods; I received bread, I will give life… The bread you have given to my poor has been consumed, but the bread I will give will not only refresh you but will never end.” (45)
4. Welcome, protect, promote and integrate.
“[M]igrants and refugees do not only represent a problem to be solved, but are brothers and sisters to be welcomed, respected and loved. They are an occasion that Providence gives us to help build a more just society, a more perfect democracy, a more united country, a more fraternal world and a more open and evangelical Christian community.” (Pope Francis) (75)
5. Committed to resolving the structural problems of poverty.
“[W]e cannot fail to consider the effects on people’s lives of environmental deterioration, current models of development and the throwaway culture.” For “the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet.”(94; Pope Francis, 96)
Bonus! Pope Leo Also Wrote About Catholic Education
In Dilexi Te, Pope Leo XIV writes, “For the Christian faith, the education of the poor is not a favor but a duty. Children have a right to knowledge as a fundamental requirement for the recognition of human dignity…..
“Catholic schools … when they are faithful to their name, are places of inclusion, integral formation and human development. By combining faith and culture, they sow the seeds of the future, honor the image of God and build a better society.” (DT, 72)
Not long after Pope Leo issued Dilexi Te, he released an apostolic letter on Catholic education.
“Drawing New Maps of Hope” marks the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Catholic Education, Gravissimum educationis.
In the letter, Pope Leo declared St. John Henry Newman a “co-patron” of Catholic education with St. Thomas Aquinas. The document also addressed the importance of schools as social justice:
Catholic education in low-income communities is “a concrete promise of educational mobility and social justice.”
Schools should demonstrate “quality in pedagogical planning, teacher training and governance; courage in ensuring access for the poorest, in supporting fragile families, in promoting scholarships and inclusive policies.…
“Where access to education remains a privilege, the Church must push to open doors and invent new paths, because ‘losing the poor’ is equivalent to losing the school itself.”
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