The "Preferential Option for the Poor" is a Catholic social teaching on how the Bible gives priority to the well-being of the poor and powerless.
Referring to the Preferential Option for the Poor, Pope Leo XIV writes in his Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te, "This 'preference' never indicates exclusivity or discrimination towards other groups, which would be impossible for God. It is meant to emphasize God’s actions, which are moved by compassion toward the poverty and weakness of all humanity. Wanting to inaugurate a kingdom of justice, fraternity and solidarity, God has a special place in his heart for those who are discriminated against and oppressed, and he asks us, his Church, to make a decisive and radical choice in favor of the weakest... With St. John Paul II, the Church’s preferential relationship with the poor was consolidated, particularly from a doctrinal standpoint. His teaching saw in the option for the poor a 'special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the Church bears witness.'"
Fr. Mark-Mary shares powerful examples of how we can put the poor and weakest among us at the front of our hearts and minds.
