Pope Leo XIV has issued his first apostolic exhortation of his young pontificate titled "Dilexi Te," which translates “I have loved you.” Those words were spoken by Jesus Christ to those who, in the Pope’s words, “had no influence or resources” and were treated with “violence and contempt.”

This exhortation calls upon all Christians to renew their outreach for the poor, not by mere words alone but action. Leo reminds us that when we see the “wounded faces of the poor, we see the suffering of the innocent and, therefore, the suffering of Christ himself.”

"Dilexi Te" was a joint effort begun by the late Pope Francis and completed by the new pope. It represents a continuity not only between the two pontiffs but a continuum with the history of the Catholic Church.

Leo takes aim at a “wealthy elite, living in a bubble of comfort and luxury” who create an “illusion of happiness. . .centered on the accumulation of wealth and social success at all costs.”

In such a world, the pope argues those left behind are the poor and migrants whom he singles out for particular care. In a recent speech, the pontiff decried the “inhuman measures” that treat migrants “as if they were garbage and not human beings.”

In our highly polarized culture, many interpret Leo’s words as either declaring war on President Trump or siding with those adamantly opposed to the president. Neither is true. Care........

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