Christian charity makes faith in Christ credible, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church's charitable activity makes the Christian faith credible, Pope Leo XIV said, thanking members of Caritas Internationalis for living out what they believe.

"In my Apostolic Exhortation 'Dilexi Te,' I reflected on this very mystery: that the love we receive from Christ is never a private treasure but always a mission entrusted to our hands," the pope told members of the network's Representative Council.

"Love sends us forth; love makes us servants; love opens our eyes to the wounds of others," he told the group Nov. 21.

Caritas Internationalis is the Vatican-based umbrella organization for 162 official national Catholic charities working in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. The U.S. members are the bishops' Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA.

The Representative Council includes the president, currently Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo, the regional presidents, elected regional representatives and two youth delegates.

Caritas Internationalis and the national charities it includes are living examples of the church's proclamation that "Christ's preference is for the poor, the least, the abandoned and discarded," Pope Leo said, quoting Pope Francis.

"Indeed, this vision can be seen in the Eucharist itself, where the Lord, 'having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end,'" the pope told the group.

Peace, justice and truth are "the three pillars that sustain the church's work in the world," he said. They are not abstract ideals but the daily work of Caritas.

"Wherever you accompany a displaced family, defend the rights of the poor or offer a listening heart to the forgotten, the church's witness becomes ever more credible," Pope Leo said.