Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: “Serving the poor is serving Christ,” emphasized Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, highlighting that acts of charity are not mere obligations but profound expressions of faith. The Cardinal made this remark while releasing the Indian edition of the Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te (I Have Loved You) during the annual meeting of Communio Directors held at the St. Joseph Vaz Spiritual Renewal Centre in Old Goa.
Cardinal Filipe Neri, who heads both the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) and the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), as well as serving as Archbishop of Goa and Daman, underscored that true discipleship manifests in love for the poor. “The one who loves Christ cannot be unmoved by the suffering of His people,” he said, urging believers to recognize Christ in the faces of the marginalized and to turn compassion into concrete action. Quoting Jesus, he reminded, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
The newly released Dilexi Te, authored by Pope Leo XIV, focuses on Christian love expressed through service to the poor. Signed on October 4, 2025, and officially published on October 9, 2025, it marks Pope Leo XIV’s first Apostolic Exhortation. The document builds upon Dilexit Nos, the Apostolic Exhortation issued by Pope Francis on October 24, 2024, which commemorated 350 years since the first apparition of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673.
