Reflections on “Dilexi Te”, the first magisterial document of Leo XIV’s papacy

St. Pope John Paul II’s first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis, was a Christocentric theological anthropology very near and dear to his heart. And as his full papacy made clear, it was indeed a definite programmatic statement from the new pope about the main themes of his papacy. However, Lumen Fidei (mostly written by Benedict XVI but finished by Francis) was not that. Nor, I suspect, is Dilexi Te (mostly written by Francis but finished by Leo). This is not to say this habit of publishing unfinished papal texts from one’s immediate predecessor is little more than an empty encomium in the form of a eulogy, signifying little. It obviously means something, and that could be nothing more than the obvious. To wit, Pope Leo really does have a love for the poor.