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October 10, 2025
 
Overview: The government shutdown that began last week continues, with no end in sight. A dispute over whether or not to extend subsidies that help people purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act continues to divide members of Congress.
Economy: The Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly jobs report and figures for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims have not been released because of the government shutdown.
Affordable housing: The Senate passed the ROAD to Housing Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act ([link removed]). The ROAD to Housing Act moves the country towards building more housing and bringing down housing costs. Specifically, it eliminates unnecessary red tape that gets in the way of new housing construction; incentivizes and supports local communities to build more housing supply; paves the way for more modular and manufactured housing construction and preserves affordable manufactured housing communities; preserves and expands housing options for veterans and rural communities; reduces homelessness; expands access to homeownership; and helps communities recovering from disasters to rebuild housing. A section-by-section analysis of the bill can be found here ([link removed]). Bill text can be found here ([link removed]).
CCUSA Annual Gathering: The CCUSA Government Relations team participated in the 2025 CCUSA Annual Gathering that took place in San Juan, Puerto Rico, this week, October 6 - 9, with nearly 600 staff, volunteers, and board members from the Catholic Charities network participating. Members of the Government Relations team led sessions on the political relationship between the U.S. and its unincorporated territories (with special emphasis on Puerto Rico), building government relations at Catholic Charities agencies, and anti-trafficking efforts amid policy changes (among other topics). Pope Leo XIV addressed the gathering via a letter that was read to those present by Roberto González Nieves, Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico ([link removed]).
Preferential option for the poor: Pope Leo XIV released his apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te ([link removed]), this week. The exhortation reminds the Church and all people of good will that those who are poor do not lose the inherent dignity they have as human beings, nor is their dignity in any way diminished by lacking material goods, knowledge, or physical and mental abilities. Rather, because they share the dignity of every human person, they should receive the love and support we would extend to any of our brothers and sisters in need. The poor are not a problem to be solved (No. 56), the pope writes, but they represent Jesus, whom we love (Nos. 76, 85). We are called to help the poor flourish (toward integral human development) by concrete actions of charity, which include everything from personal almsgiving (Nos. 115-121) to eradicating "the structural causes of poverty and inequality" (cf. No. 81). As Pope Leo says, "Charity has the power to change reality" (No. 91).
 
All the members of the People of God have a duty to make their voices heard, albeit in different ways, in order to point out and denounce such structural issues [i.e., the structural causes of poverty], even at the cost of appearing foolish or naïve. Unjust structures need to be recognized and eradicated by the force of good, by changing mindsets but also, with the help of science and technology, by developing effective policies for societal change. It must never be forgotten that the Gospel message has to do not only with an individual's personal relationship with the Lord, but also with something greater: "the Kingdom of God (cf. Lk 4:43); it is about loving God who reigns in our world. To the extent that he reigns within us, the life of society will be a setting for universal fraternity, justice, peace and dignity. Both Christian preaching and life, then, are meant to have an impact on society. We are seeking God's Kingdom." Pope Leo XIV, Dilexi te, No. 97
 
Q. The title of Pope Leo XIV's first apostolic exhortation is Dilexi te ([link removed]). What does it mean?
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