Leone XIV

This is the new Pope Leo XiV's first apostolic exhortation. When it was released, there were a number of criticisms from conservative and right-wing writers who felt the pope was criticizing the MAGA movement or modern capitalism. Pope Leo's short comments on immigration were often quoted as attacks on the actions of the Trump Administration. NY Times columnist, Russ Douthat, said "But it has a clear political point of view, a sharp critique of libertarian visions of political economy, an show more insistence that capitalism must be tamed and gentled for the sake of basic human goods." He also felt that the pope needed to be more specific with his policy prescriptions.

The Exhortation is addressed to all Christians with the subject "On Love for the Poor." Leo introduces the topic by saying that he is continuing work that had been started by Pope Francis. He begins with numerous quotes from the scriptures telling Christians to minister to the poor. The number of quotes seemed almost excessive since he was supposedly writing for people that already knew the messages of the Gospels. He addresses this saying: "Christians too, on a number of occasions, have succumbed to attitudes shaped by secular ideologies or political and economic approaches that lead to gross generalizations and mistaken conclusions. The fact that some dismiss or ridicule charitable works, as if they were an obsession on the part of a few and not the burning heart of he Church's mission, convinces me of the need to go back and re-read the Gospel, lest we risk replacing it with the wisdom of this world."

Pope Leo is critical of some of the modern statements saying that "it would be better not to lift them out of their poverty but simply to teach them to work. At times, pseudo-scientific data are invoked to support the claim that a free market economy will automatically solve the problem of poverty."

The Exhortation then reviews the history of the church and the many people and Orders that have ministered to the poor. He demonstrates that caring for the poor is an intrinsic part of the Church's mission throughout it's history. His review of the history comes up to the present day with references to the discussions of poverty in the Latin America church.

Although many news articles emphasized Leo's comments on migration, very little space is given in this Exhortation to the topic. What he does say, he says strongly: "the Church has always recognized in migrants a living presence of the Lord who, on the day of judgement, will say to those on his right: 'I was a stranger and you welcomed me.'" He then quotes Pope Francis saying that "our response to the challenges posed by contemporary migration can be summed up in four verbs: welcome, protect, promote, and integrate."

It is hard to imagine why people reacted so negatively to this Exhortation since it the text sounds not much different from what people should have been hearing during Sunday morning church services. It is easy to imagine that many readers will be inspired to give alms after reading this. show less