Cardinal McElroy’s statement on Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation “Dilexi Te”
In his new apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te, Pope Leo has given the Church a beautiful reflection on the relationship that every disciple must have with the poor of our world. Starting with the proclamation that “Love for the Lord is one with love for the poor,” the Holy Father traces the uninterrupted centrality that the poor have played in the Church’s proclamation of the Gospel in every age and culture, and the rich legacy that the saints have left us in their comprehension that love for God is not possible for the Christian without love for the poor. Pope Leo illuminates the ties that call us to a deep affection for the poor and a profound sense of solidarity and action in the world to alleviate poverty and the structures that perpetuate it in the age in which we live.
I pray that the people of the Archdiocese of Washington will find in this apostolic exhortation a new source of prayer, reflection, analysis and action, as well as a renewed understanding of the compassion of Jesus Christ which knows no bounds.