Overview

• Published Thursday by the Vatican, the letter urges societies to address the root causes of poverty and reject a culture of exclusion.
• Leo XIV warns of a growing wealthy elite living in insulated luxury and questions how nations value those born with fewer opportunities.
• The document highlights migrants and women facing violence and explicitly recalls the death of Syrian child Alan Kurdi as a moral wake-up call.
• The Vatican says Pope Francis drafted parts before his death, with Leo XIV completing and issuing the text as his first major teaching.
• German Catholic leaders publicly praised the message, while some observers interpret passages as veiled criticism of U.S. immigration policy under President Donald Trump.