VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV blasted how the wealthy elite live in a “bubble of comfort and luxury” while poor people suffer on the margins, confirming in his first teaching document Thursday that he is in perfect lockstep with his predecessor Pope Francis on matters of social and economic injustice.
The Vatican on Thursday released the document, entitled “I have loved you,” which Francis had begun to write in his final months but never finished. Leo, who was elected in May, credited Francis with the text, cited him repeatedly, but said he had made the document his own and signed it.
The 100-page document traces the history of Christianity’s constant concern for poor people, from Biblical citations and the teaching of church fathers to the preaching of recent popes about caring for m