As is well known, a central tenet of the current Pope is the dissemination and implementation of the Church’s Social Doctrine (CSD), which is a constitutive dimension of faith, mission, and essential moral life. In this sense, as this CSD has shown from the beginning with Popes such as St. Paul VI (PP 44) and St. John Paul II (CA 46) or Francis himself (EG 204), Leo XIV continues his teaching in Dilexi te (DT 92 and 114) or Magnifica humanitas (MH 163 and 201): the ethical critique and delegitimization of capitalism and the ideology of economic liberalism or neoliberalism; as he does, likewise, in relation to collectivist communism or collectivism.

Indeed, in continuity with the teachings of Benedict XVI (CV 36), Leo XIV rejects this pseudoscientific ideology, also known as “trickle-down economics.” This refers to the fundamentalism of the free market, which, rejecting all ethical and political regulation, assumes that its accumulation will automatically and surely produce supposed progress or well-being. Both social and economic science, along with historical reality and Catholic Social Teaching, refute this mercantilist totalitarianism and false anthropology, with its illusory freedom devoid of social life (justice), solidarity, values, and principles.

On the contrary, this Social Doctrine of the Church, with Popes like the current one, shows that real capitalism and its neoliberal ideology are the main cause of all this inequality and injustice in the form of increasing impoverishment, which, in turn, is the primary factor that forces our migrant brothers and sisters to seek a life and a future with greater dignity. Therefore, peoples, civil societies, and nation-states must control the market, the economy, property, and finance so that they are at the service of life, dignity, the most universal common good, social justice for the poor, and integral, ecological, and human development (MH 59, 77-81).

In this vein, in opposition to capitalism, the Social Doctrine of the Church, under Leo XIV, prioritizes the universal destination of goods over property (MH 66), and work with a just wage takes precedence over capital (DT 87, MH 148-156). A tax system based on equity, where those who have more contribute more through their taxes to this common good through the universal destination of goods (MH 162-164), is essential, taking precedence over a free market that is not guided by this social justice. And, as the foundation of all this, there is holiness, which is realized in charity (fraternal love) through evangelical (spiritual) poverty, as a poor Church with the poor. That is to say, following the humble and poor Jesus, there is communion of life, goods, and solidarity in action for justice with the poor of the earth, such as our migrant brothers and sisters. Faced with the sin of selfishness and unsupportive individualism with its idols of wealth-being rich, power and violence (DT, chapter III; MH 243-245).

Therefore, inspired by the Gospel of Jesus, which conveys this fraternity and universal justice, Catholic Social Teaching, under Pope Francis, teaches that “the world exists for everyone, because all human beings are born on this earth with the same dignity. Differences in color, religion, abilities, place of birth, place of residence, and so many others cannot be prioritized or used to justify the privileges of some over the rights of all. Consequently, as a community, we are called to ensure that every person lives with dignity and has opportunities appropriate to their integral development… Therefore, no one can be excluded, no matter where they were born, and certainly not because of the privileges that others possess because they were born in places with greater opportunities. The limits and borders of states cannot prevent this from being fulfilled. Just as it is unacceptable for someone to have fewer rights because they are a woman, it is equally unacceptable that one’s place of birth or residence should in itself determine fewer opportunities for a dignified life and development.”

The conviction of the common destination of the earth’s goods today requires that it also be applied to countries, their territories, and their resources. If we consider this not only from the perspective of the legitimacy of private property and the rights of citizens of a given nation, but also from the first principle of the common destination of goods, then we can say that every country also belongs to the foreigner, insofar as the goods of a territory should not be denied to a person in need who comes from elsewhere. For, as the Bishops of the United States taught, there are fundamental rights that “precede any society because they flow from the dignity bestowed on every person as created by God” (FT 118-124).

As can be seen, Catholic Social Teaching, with Popes like Leo XIV, emphasizes that we must exercise the essential political charity that seeks the civilization of love (MH 38) and transform the personal, cultural, structural, and historical causes and sins of evil, united with this liberating justice from injustice (MH 31 and 79). It is this lack of ethical and political control over the market, the economy, and banking and finance that generates the evils and sins of financial speculation, as seen, for example, with food and other goods, and usury with its abusive (unjust) loans and interest rates. And all of this ruins the lives of peoples, families, and the poor.

In conclusion, as Leo XIV stated, “a decisive test for social justice today is represented by the condition of migrants, refugees, and all those forced to move because of poverty, violence, climate change, and natural disasters. The way in which a society treats them shows whether its idea of ​​justice is guided by fear or by fraternity.” Pope Francis invited us to recognize in migrants not simply a problem to be solved, but “a living image of the People of God on the move”—people with dignity, resources, and dreams, who have the right to be treated with respect and who ask for the opportunity to become active members of the societies that receive them. Social justice, in this area, implies at least two complementary commitments. On the one hand, protecting the right to hope of those forced to leave, guaranteeing them safe and legal routes, dignified reception conditions, and genuine processes of integration. On the other hand, also promoting the right to remain in one’s own land in peace and security, addressing the root causes that force people to migrate, including those linked to economic injustices. and the climate crisis. When these rights are respected, migrations can be an opportunity for encounter and mutual enrichment between peoples” (MH 81).