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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPope Francis: A crisis reveals what is in our hearts
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/26/opinion/pope-francis-covid.html?smid=fb-share&fbclid=IwAR1kf0W75ElHw0ufpL9cswgX6WqvQ_MrDdzombRllB1qfwjMDf9knDJ8regTo come out of this pandemic better than we went in, we must let ourselves be touched by others pain.
By Pope Francis
Pope Francis is the head of the Catholic Church and the bishop of Rome.
If we are to come out of this crisis less selfish than when we went in, we have to let ourselves be touched by others pain. Theres a line in Friedrich Hölderlins Hyperion that speaks to me, about how the danger that threatens in a crisis is never total; theres always a way out: Where the danger is, also grows the saving power. Thats the genius in the human story: Theres always a way to escape destruction. Where humankind has to act is precisely there, in the threat itself; thats where the door opens.
This is a moment to dream big, to rethink our priorities what we value, what we want, what we seek and to commit to act in our daily life on what we have dreamed of.
God asks us to dare to create something new. We cannot return to the false securities of the political and economic systems we had before the crisis. We need economies that give to all access to the fruits of creation, to the basic needs of life: to land, lodging and labor. We need a politics that can integrate and dialogue with the poor, the excluded and the vulnerable, that gives people a say in the decisions that affect their lives. We need to slow down, take stock and design better ways of living together on this earth.
The pandemic has exposed the paradox that while we are more connected, we are also more divided. Feverish consumerism breaks the bonds of belonging. It causes us to focus on our self-preservation and makes us anxious. Our fears are exacerbated and exploited by a certain kind of populist politics that seeks power over society. It is hard to build a culture of encounter, in which we meet as people with a shared dignity, within a throwaway culture that regards the well-being of the elderly, the unemployed, the disabled and the unborn as peripheral to our own well-being.
This is a moment to dream big, to rethink our priorities what we value, what we want, what we seek and to commit to act in our daily life on what we have dreamed of.
God asks us to dare to create something new. We cannot return to the false securities of the political and economic systems we had before the crisis. We need economies that give to all access to the fruits of creation, to the basic needs of life: to land, lodging and labor. We need a politics that can integrate and dialogue with the poor, the excluded and the vulnerable, that gives people a say in the decisions that affect their lives. We need to slow down, take stock and design better ways of living together on this earth.
The pandemic has exposed the paradox that while we are more connected, we are also more divided. Feverish consumerism breaks the bonds of belonging. It causes us to focus on our self-preservation and makes us anxious. Our fears are exacerbated and exploited by a certain kind of populist politics that seeks power over society. It is hard to build a culture of encounter, in which we meet as people with a shared dignity, within a throwaway culture that regards the well-being of the elderly, the unemployed, the disabled and the unborn as peripheral to our own well-being.
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Pope Francis: A crisis reveals what is in our hearts (Original Post)
pnwmom
Nov 2020
OP
And there's a nice clapback to Trump, the SC, Covid-Barrett, and the Bklyn Dioceses.
lapucelle
Nov 2020
#1
lapucelle
(18,250 posts)1. And there's a nice clapback to Trump, the SC, Covid-Barrett, and the Bklyn Dioceses.
With some exceptions, governments have made great efforts to put the well-being of their people first, acting decisively to protect health and to save lives. The exceptions have been some governments that shrugged off the painful evidence of mounting deaths, with inevitable, grievous consequences. But most governments acted responsibly, imposing strict measures to contain the outbreak.
Yet some groups protested, refusing to keep their distance, marching against travel restrictions as if measures that governments must impose for the good of their people constitute some kind of political assault on autonomy or personal freedom! Looking to the common good is much more than the sum of what is good for individuals. It means having a regard for all citizens and seeking to respond effectively to the needs of the least fortunate.
Yet some groups protested, refusing to keep their distance, marching against travel restrictions as if measures that governments must impose for the good of their people constitute some kind of political assault on autonomy or personal freedom! Looking to the common good is much more than the sum of what is good for individuals. It means having a regard for all citizens and seeking to respond effectively to the needs of the least fortunate.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/26/opinion/pope-francis-covid.html
pnwmom
(108,976 posts)2. Yes! Thank you for highlighting this part, too.
Hekate
(90,645 posts)3. It's an excellent essay. In addition to the call of the heart & call to solidarity...
...he also gives a call to the brain, i.e. Science. Sometimes one has to be reminded that this man started as a scientist.
dalton99a
(81,451 posts)4. Kick
crickets
(25,962 posts)5. Another K&R
MustLoveBeagles
(11,591 posts)6. K&R
demosincebirth
(12,536 posts)7. Excelente!!