For Immediate Release: Thursday, October 9, 2025
Contact: Bianca Misterio at (e) bianca@catholicsmobilizing.org (p) (703) 881-6415
Website: catholicsmobilizing.org X: @CMNEndtheDP

Pope Leo releases “Dilexi te”, expressing the Church’s unwavering commitment to the poor and marginalized.

Urgency to address structural injustice that impoverishes, excludes and marginalizes people in society is not a secondary sideshow for the Church but a fundamental way to encounter the God of history.

“At a time when self-interest, fear, and mistrust lead to so much cynicism in our politics and culture, Pope Leo’s call to resist these impulses in favor of love, concern for those who have been ‘discarded’, and determination to uproot unjust social structures is truly inspiring and emboldening,” says Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Executive Director of Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN).

“In Dilexi te (“I have loved you”), Pope Leo XIV demonstrates his deep continuity with the priorities of Pope Francis, including the centrality of concern for the poor and marginalized, and the explicit need to resist a culture of ‘exclusion and indifference’. It is so fitting that the document was started by Pope Francis and finished by Pope Leo.”

In the Apostolic Exhortation, Pope Leo writes, “We cannot conclude this reflection on people deprived of their freedom without mentioning those in various prisons and detention centers (62).” The Holy Father alludes to the long-standing Christian tradition of visiting and even freeing prisoners, in addition to quoting Pope Francis, who made numerous memorable visits to prison to express the key message that no one is beyond redemption.

“When we look at the deep structural injustice that is at the very heart of the death penalty, we are compelled to act with the urgency expressed in Dilexit te. During this Respect Life Month, instead of debating how much one life issue matters compared to another, Pope Leo reminds us of the consistency and coherence in our Church teaching that values dignity of every person, and encourages us pursue the necessary dialogue and action needed to address root causes and eliminate injustices, like the death penalty,” Vaillancourt Murphy continues.

“Who is more of an outcast in our society than those on death row? Their exclusion is so absolute that we make agents of the state not only lock them away from the rest of society, but also execute these human beings; they become arbiters of life and death, a role that should only belong to God. And it is not done to make us safer or deter crime, as the death penalty does neither, but because people sentenced to death are viewed as incapable of any redemption and unworthy of our concern or mercy or even a recognition of shared humanity,” Vaillancourt Murphy says. “But the Church calls us to see their humanity, to not simply discard and ignore these human beings, regardless of what they have done.”

Pope Leo writes, “By her very nature the Church is in solidarity with the poor, the excluded, the marginalized and all those considered the outcast of society (111).”

Pope Leo expresses the power of Christian charity, writing: “Christian love breaks down every barrier, brings close those who were distant, unites strangers, and reconciles enemies. It spans chasms that are humanly impossible to bridge, and it penetrates to the most hidden crevices of society (120).” Vaillancourt Murphy shares, “For those who have seen how restorative justice can transform hurt and suffering into healing, redemption, and wholeness, we have caught a glimpse of the power of this Christian love.”

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Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Catholic Mobilizing Network is a national organization that mobilizes Catholics and people of goodwill to end the death penalty, advance justice solutions in alignment with Catholic values and promote healing through restorative justice approaches and practices. For more information and to join the movement, visit catholicsmobilizing.org.