By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“Thank you for the steadfast service that your organization continues to offer to the whole Church,” said Pope Leo XIV to members of the Representative Council of Caritas Internationalis in the Vatican on Friday.
In his remarks, the Pope recalled that Caritas Internationalis has always embodied the Church’s proclamation that “Christ’s preference is for the poor, the least, the abandoned and discarded.”
This preference for the poor, he said, “can be seen in the Eucharist itself, where the Lord, ‘having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end.’”
Pope Leo recalled his Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi te, on love for the poor, in which he reflected on this very mystery, namely that “the love we receive from Christ is never a private treasure but always a mission entrusted to our hands. Love sends us forth; love makes us servants; love opens our eyes to the wounds of others.”
Luminous sign of the Church’s maternal love
Caritas Internationalis, the Pope recalled, has long been a luminous sign of the Church’s maternal love, expressing his gratitude that its members “stand ready to walk with the Successor of Peter in serving every person with dignity.”
Pope Leo recalled his first address to the Diplomatic Corps, where he spoke of the three pillars that sustain the Church’s work in the world: peace, justice, and truth.
“Your mission,” he said, “echoes that vision,” and does so through its daily work, concretely, and not in the abstract.
Concrete, not abstract
“Wherever you accompany a displaced family, defend the rights of the poor, or offer a listening heart to the forgotten,” Pope Leo said, “the Church’s witness becomes ever more credible.”
“In this spirit,” he exhorted, “I encourage you to continue accompanying local Churches, strengthening the formation of lay leaders, and safeguarding unity within your diverse organization.”
“Only when we walk together as companions along the way, allowing the Holy Spirit to shape our works of mercy,” he said, does the Church’s mission unfold.
Finally, Pope Leo XIV concluded by praying that Mary, Mother of the Poor, may intercede for Caritas’ members, so that “may remain pilgrims of hope and artisans of peace, and to the Lord, and that He bless them with His gifts of courage, perseverance, and joy.” – Vatican News
