In his study of Francis as a "model of human liberation," Leonardo Boff claims that his uniqueness lies in his novel understanding of poverty. "Poverty is a way of being by which the individual lets things be what they are; one refuses to dominate them, subjugate them, and make them objects of the will to power," says Boff. "The more radical the poverty, the closer the individual comes to reality, and the easier it is to commune with all things, respecting and reverencing their differences and distinctions. Universal fraternity is the result of the way-of-being-poor of Saint Francis."
— Leonardo Boff, Super, Natural Christians by Sallie McFague