Our Catholic faith instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first. This misery elicited the compassion of Christ the Savior, who willingly took it upon himself and identified himself with the least of his brethren. Hence, those who are oppressed by poverty are the object of a preferential love on the part of the church which, since her origin and in spite of the failings of many of her members, has not ceased to work for their relief, defense, and liberation through numerous works of charity which remain indispensable always and everywhere. Because the common good, the good of society as a whole, requires it. The opposite of rich and powerful is poor and powerless.
Any parent knows what preferential love means.
Let the toddler run out into the path of an oncoming automobile and you'll see the older child left to fend for him- or herself on the sidewalk as the parent of both runs out to extend preferential protection to the vulnerable child. So the modern church is asking nothing unusual, unfamiliar, or extraordinary when it calls for preferential love of the poor and vulnerable. Large-hearted Christians will always make room in their hearts for the poor.