Pope Leo's address 'to all Christians, on love for the poor': A test for the Indian Church’s conscience
The Catholic Church will observe the ‘World Day of the Poor’ on 16 November 2025. The day holds special significance this year as it follows Pope Leo XIV’s first major papal document—an Apostolic Exhortation addressed “to all Christians, on love for the poor,” titled Dilexi Te (I Have Loved You), dated 4 October (the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi). About four months earlier, on 13 June 2025, the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, Pope Leo released his message for the 9th World Day of the Poor, on the theme “You are my hope” (cf. Ps 71:5). Both in his message and in his exhortation, he makes one thing clear: the Catholic Church takes sides with the poor, and every effort must be made to become and be visibly the Church of and for the poor.
For the World Day of the Poor, Pope Leo offers a deeply incisive and challenging message—to pray, reflect, and act upon. Focusing on the theme, which lies at the heart of his message, he emphatically writes, “The biblical summons to hope thus entails the duty to shoulder our responsibilities in history, without hesitation. Charity, in fact, ‘is the greatest social commandment.’ Poverty has structural causes that must be addressed and eliminated. In the meantime, each of us is called to offer new signs of hope that will bear witness to Christian charity. Hospitals and schools, for instance, were institutions established to reach out to the most vulnerable and marginalized. These institutions should be part of every country’s public policy, yet wars and inequalities often prevent this from happening… The poor are not a distraction for the Church but our beloved brothers and sisters, for by their lives, their words, and their wisdom, they put us in contact with the truth of the Gospel. The celebration of the ‘World Day of the Poor’ is meant to remind our communities that the poor are at the heart of all our pastoral activity... God took on their poverty in order to enrich us.”
Pope Leo’s message unfolds in six pointed sections. At the outset, he provides a scriptural foundation and understanding of his message. He asserts that “amid life’s trials, our hope is inspired by the firm and reassuring certainty of God’s love, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” After this introduction, he emphasizes the need to make God our first and only hope and not to rely on the materiality of this world. The poor, having nothing, rely entirely on God. “The poor can be witnesses to a strong and steadfast hope precisely because they embody it in the midst of uncertainty, poverty, instability, and marginalization. They cannot rely on the security of power and possessions; on the contrary, they are at their mercy and often victims of them.”
Trusting in God alone gives meaning to our lives. Pope Leo is unequivocal when he states, “the gravest form of poverty is not to know God.” In the third section, he continues, “this is a rule of faith and the secret of hope: all this earth’s goods, material realities, worldly pleasures, economic prosperity—however important—cannot bring happiness to our hearts. Wealth often disappoints and can lead to tragic situations of poverty—above all, the poverty born of the failure to recognize our need for God and of the attempt to live without him.”
He then reflects on Christian hope, which, he notes, is symbolized by an anchor that provides stability and security. “Christian hope is like an anchor that grounds our hearts in the promise of the Lord Jesus, who saved us by his death and resurrection and will come again among us.” He situates this hope within the Church’s tradition, saying, “The Church’s tradition has constantly insisted on the circular relationship between the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Hope is born of faith, which nourishes and sustains it on the foundation of charity, the mother of all virtues. All of us need charity here and now. Charity is not just a promise; it is a present reality to be embraced with joy and responsibility. Charity engages us and guides our decisions toward the common good. Conversely, those who lack charity not only lack faith and hope; they also rob their neighbours of hope.” Pope Leo, like Pope Francis, does not mince words!
After delivering the crux of his message in the fifth section, he concludes in a style reminiscent of Pope Francis. He writes, “Each day we encounter poor or impoverished people. We too may have less than before and are losing what once seemed secure: a home, sufficient food for each day, access to healthcare and a good education, information, religious freedom, and freedom of expression…. In this promotion of the common good, our social responsibility is grounded in God’s creative act, which gives everyone a share in the goods of the earth. Like those goods, the fruits of human labour should be equally accessible to all. Helping the poor is a matter of justice before it is a question of charity.” Words that are familiar—but very hard to swallow!
In his concluding paragraph, Pope Leo prays, “Let us entrust ourselves to Mary Most Holy, Comforter of the Afflicted, and with her, let us raise a song of hope as we make our own the words of the Te Deum: ‘In you, O Lord, is our hope, and we shall never hope in vain.’” Just before that, he delivers his final call: “It is my hope, then, that this Jubilee Year will encourage the development of policies aimed at combating forms of poverty both old and new, as well as implementing new initiatives to support and assist the poorest of the poor. Labour, education, housing, and health are the foundations of a security that will never be attained by the use of arms. I express my appreciation for those initiatives that already exist and for the efforts demonstrated daily on the international level by great numbers of men and women of good will.”
Pope Leo’s message thus comes as a challenge to all who claim to be followers of Jesus. While his words are directed primarily to Catholics, their essence transcends the narrow confines of any one religion. His message is, in fact, a challenge to all humanity—to every person: Are we willing to see God in the poor? Do we have the courage to allow the poor to lead us to God? Are we ready to become poor ourselves? All these are interconnected dimensions meant to help us realise, as he says, “the poor are our beloved brothers and sisters.”
The key question remains: how many Indian Catholics will truly take Pope Leo’s message seriously, internalise it, and act upon its directives? It may well go abegging! Many within the hierarchy, clergy, and religious orders do little reading of Church documents; even fewer engage in serious study, reflection, discussion, or discernment. Such teachings are rarely heard from the pulpit, seldom featured in Catholic print or online media, and hardly ever the subject of seminars or lay formation programmes. Catholic Social Teaching thus remains one of the best-kept secrets of the Catholic Church! Few also ask why Pope Leo XIV chose that name—after Pope Leo XIII.
Then there is the general attitude toward the poor! They are often looked down upon with disdain. In many Catholic homes and institutions, the poor—employed as domestic workers or casual labourers—are denied just wages, made to work long hours, and deprived of the dignity that is every human being’s birthright, as one created in the image and likeness of God. The poor often become recipients of leftover or stale food, old clothes, or whatever others no longer want. “After all,” they say, “beggars can’t be choosers.” As one “good” Catholic once remarked, “These poor people should be grateful for the food I give them, which I do not want to keep for the next day!” An attitude and expression, sadly, that many other “charitable” Catholics would echo. Yet this is not Church teaching; it is not what discipleship means, nor how we are called to treat the poor—as Pope Leo makes abundantly clear.
Unfortunately, Church directives are often conveniently ignored or swept under the carpet. Many prefer to busy themselves with rites and rituals, cosmetic displays, and token gestures, avoiding the real challenges that define our Christian identity. Will the World Day of the Poor be yet another “event” marked by lip service and empty rhetoric? Are we ready to translate the Church’s directives into substantial action, individually and collectively? Are we disturbed by the fact that in the 2025 Global Hunger Index, India ranks 102 out of 123 countries, with a level of hunger considered “serious”?
The way ahead is clear—there can be no doubt or debate about it. Pope Leo, both in his message and in his Apostolic Exhortation, gives us a roadmap that no Christian with a conscience can ignore. The poor are with us; they are our hope. Pope Leo reminds us: “Love for the Lord, then, is one with love for the poor…. The condition of the poor is a cry that, throughout human history, constantly challenges our lives, societies, political and economic systems, and, not least, the Church… Every form of poverty, without exception, calls us to experience the Gospel concretely and to offer effective signs of hope.” Do we have the prophetic courage to accept that challenge—and to make it a living reality in our lives today?
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*Human rights, reconciliation, and peace activist/writer
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