In his first doctrinal document, Pope Leo XIV followed Pope Francis in calling for a renewed commitment of the Catholic Church with immigrants worldwide, and criticized free market economy as “pseudoscientific.”
Pope Leo introduced Dilexi Te (“I have loved you”) as a document that “Pope Francis was preparing in the last months of his life.”
“I am happy to make this document my own — adding some reflections — and to issue it at the beginning of my own pontificate,” Pope Leo also wrote.
In chapter three of the exhortation, titled “A Church for the Poor,” Pope Leo reaffirms that “the Church has always recognized in migrants a living presence of the Lord who, on the day of judgment, will say to those on his right: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’ (Mt 25:35).”
The exhortation then highlights the saints that dedicated their lives to help the immigrants, and specifically mentions the example of Italian-born American Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini.
“To fulfill her mission of assisting migrants, she crossed the Atlantic several times,” the Pontiff writes, and reminds that “in the Holy Year of 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed her Patroness of All Migrants.”
Pope Leo also highlights that “the Church’s tradition of working for and with migrants continues, and today this service is expressed in initiatives such as refugee reception centers, border missions and the efforts of Caritas Internationalis and other institutions. Contemporary teaching clearly reaffirms this commitment.”
Free market economy
The apostolic exhortation does not take a deep dive into politics or economics. But in the fifth and last chapter, titled “A Permanent Challenge,” the Pontiff writes:
“At times, pseudo-scientific data are invoked to support the claim that a free market economy will automatically solve the problem of poverty. Or even that we should opt for pastoral work with the so-called elite, since, rather than wasting time on the poor, it would be better to care for the rich, the influential and professionals, so that with their help real solutions can be found and the Church can feel protected. It is easy to perceive the worldliness behind these positions, which would lead us to view reality through superficial lenses, lacking any light from above, and to cultivate relationships that bring us security and a position of privilege.”
That paragraph in the exhortation is followed by an extended reflection on the importance of almsgiving.
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