Vatican City (AP) — Pope Leo XIV He slammed how wealthy elites live in a “bubble of comfort and luxury” while the poor languish in the margins, which he confirmed in his first education document on Thursday. Perfectly in step with his predecessor Pope Francis On issues of social and economic injustice.
The Vatican on Thursday released a document entitled “I Love You,” which Francis began but never finished in his final months. Mr. Leo, who was elected in May, said Mr. Francisco was the author of the document, repeatedly quoting him, but that Mr. Francisco had made it his own and signed it.
The 100-page document traces the history of Christianity’s continued concern for the poor, from Biblical quotations and teachings of the Fathers of the Church to the Pope’s recent homily on caring for immigrants, prisoners, and victims of human trafficking. Leo believed that religious orders, especially women, fulfill God’s mission to care for the sick, feed the poor, and welcome the stranger, and he praised lay-led popular movements that defended the land, homes, and jobs of society’s most disadvantaged people.
Leo’s conclusion is that the Catholic Church’s “preferential option for the poor” has been present from the beginning, is non-negotiable, and is, in fact, the very essence of what it means to be a Christian. He calls for renewed efforts to address the structural causes of poverty while providing unquestionable charity to those in need.
“When the Church kneels beside a leper, a malnourished child, or an anonymous dying person, she fulfills her deepest mission: to love the Lord where He hurts the most,” Leo wrote.
Quoting Francis’ words criticizing the wealthy
Leo frequently quotes FrancisIt includes some of the Argentine Pope’s most cited talking points regarding the global “killing economy” and criticism of trickle-down economics. Francis has been pointing this out since his inauguration as pope in 2013, saying he wants a “Church for the poor.”
“God has a special place in his heart for those who are discriminated against and oppressed, and he calls us, the Church of God, to make decisive and radical choices in favor of the most vulnerable,” Leo wrote.
Echoing Francis’ words, Leo rails against the “illusion of happiness” achieved through the accumulation of wealth. “Thus, in a world where more and more people are living in poverty, a growing wealthy elite, living in a bubble of comfort and luxury, paradoxically appears worlds apart from ordinary people.”
Francis’ frequent criticisms of capitalism particularly infuriated many conservative and wealthy Catholics in the United States, who accused Argentina’s Jesuits of being Marxists.
In a recent interview, Leo said such misplaced criticism was not meant for him. “The fact that I’m an American, among other things, means that I can’t say, as people have said about Francis, ‘He just doesn’t understand America, he doesn’t understand what’s going on,'” Leo told Catholic site Clax.
As a result, Leo’s acceptance of Francis’ teachings on poverty and the Church’s obligation to care for the most vulnerable was an important reaffirmation, especially in Leo’s first catechesis.
Signed on the Feast of St. Francis
Leo signed the document on October 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, a 13th-century mendicant monk who gave up his wealth to live in poverty among the poor. This date was no coincidence.
The late Pope Francis named himself after a saint and one of the papacy’s most important documents “Fratelli Tutti” (Brothers All) It was published on the 4th of October 2020, a public holiday.
Leo, too, seems inspired by the example of the saint. As a young priest, the former Robert Prevost left his comfortable home to serve as a missionary in Peru as a member of the Augustinian Order. The Augustinian Order is an ancient mendicant order that considers community, sharing of common wealth, and service to others as central tenets of spirituality.
“The fact that some people belittle or ridicule charity, as if it were an obsession of some people rather than the burning heart of the Church’s mission, convinces me of the need to go back and reread the Gospels, lest we risk replacing them with the wisdom of this world,” Leo wrote.
References to liberation theology
Leo’s emphasis on the church’s long-established “preferential options for the poor” is unusual given the Vatican’s troubled history of dealing with issues. liberation theology, A Latin American-style Catholic theology that believes in “preferential options for the poor.”
The Vatican, led by St. John Paul II, has gone to great lengths to combat liberation theology and discipline its most famous defenders, claiming they misinterpreted Jesus’ preference for the poor as a Marxist call for armed rebellion.
In contrast, Leo further emphasized this concept, citing some of the fundamental documents of the Latin American Church on this issue. He praised him for being an inspiration. saint oscar romeroan archbishop of El Salvador who was killed in 1980 by a right-wing death squad who opposed his sermons against the military’s oppression of the poor.
Leo’s article trivialized the debate over liberation theology, saying that the Vatican’s 1984 crackdown on promoters was “initially not welcomed by anyone.”
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