In any case, the main themes of this document do not depart from the greater Catholic Tradition. Dilexi Te’s coremessage is that care for the poor is inseparable from Christian life. To follow the Lord means to do what he asks. And He asks insistently that His disciples look to the poor, the needy, the suffering, and the outcast. Jesus’ account of the last judgment shows that this is the test and sign of truly accepting the gift and burden of faith. Those accounted true sheep will be told: “Just as you did it to the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).
It is not the Gospels alone that send this message. The Old and New Testaments both give testimony to the Lord’s care for the cries of the poor and our duty to care for them especially. The Catholic Tradition has lately spoken of a “preferential option on the part of God for the poor.” Leo clarifies that this phrase “never indicates exclusivity or discrimination towards other groups, which would be impossible for God.”
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