Pope Leo Declares Whose Side He’s On—and It’s Not JD Vance’s

Pope Leo XIV last week released his first apostolic
exhortation, Dilexi Te, and the message from the first
American-born pontiff seems certain to rile conservatives in the United States.
The first section, titled “A Few Essential Words,” declares, “Love for the
Lord, then, is one with love for the poor … contact with those who are lowly and
powerless is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord of history. In the
poor, he continues to speak to us.” The teaching document also shames those who
would blame the poor for their situations, saying those who do so reveal “their
own blindness and cruelty.” Finally, in its closing sections, the document
looks beyond economic poverty, stating, “By her very nature the Church is in
solidarity with the poor, the excluded, the marginalized and all those
considered the outcast of society.”

It is inarguable that in these theological and ethical
arguments, Pope Leo, who was naturalized as Peruvian
citizen in 2015, owes more to his Latin American ties than anything else. For
Dilexi Te (“I have loved you”) marks
the triumph of Liberation Theology, once derided and maligned by the
Western Catholic establishment, as now a central part of papal teaching. The
exhortation should also serve as a warning to politically conservative American
Catholics, including Vice President JD Vance, about how far out of step they are
with the global mood and direction of their church. In this sense, Dilexi Te is the most official reminder
yet of the growing divide within American
Catholicism,
a divide intensified by the moral and political pressures of President Trump’s
America. This outcome of this struggle has implications not only for the
Catholic faithful but American democracy itself.