Embracing the Way of Jesus by Pope Francis

Author:Pope Francis [Francis, Pope]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL010000, RELIGION / Christianity/Catholic, REL012040, RELIGION / Christian Life/Inspirational, REL077000, RELIGION / Faith
ISBN: 9780829444667
Publisher: Loyola Press
Published: 2017-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

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It is vital to develop a culture of human rights that wisely links the individual, or better, the personal aspect, to that of the common good, of the “all of us” made up of individuals, families, and intermediate groups who together constitute society. In fact, unless the rights of each individual are harmoniously ordered to the greater good, those rights will end up being considered limitless and consequently will become a source of conflicts and violence.157

To speak of transcendent human dignity thus means appealing to human nature, to our innate capacity to distinguish good from evil, to that “compass” deep within our hearts, which God has impressed upon all creation. Above all, it means regarding human beings not as absolutes but as beings in relation. In my view, one of the most common diseases . . . today is the loneliness typical of those who have no connection with others. This is especially true of the elderly, who are often abandoned to their fate, and also in the young who lack clear points of reference and opportunities for the future. It is also seen in the many poor who dwell in our cities and in the disorientation of immigrants who came here seeking a better future.158

We encounter certain rather selfish lifestyles, marked by an opulence that is no longer sustainable and frequently indifferent to the world around us and especially to the poorest of the poor. To our dismay, we see technical and economic questions dominating political debate, to the detriment of genuine concern for human beings. Men and women risk being reduced to mere cogs in a machine that treats them as items of consumption to be exploited, with the result that—as is so tragically apparent—whenever a human life no longer proves useful for that machine, it is discarded with few qualms, as in the case of the sick, the terminally ill, the elderly who are abandoned and uncared for, and [the] children who are killed in the womb.159

This is the great mistake made “when technology is allowed to take over; the result is a confusion between ends and means.” It is the inevitable consequence of a throwaway culture and an uncontrolled consumerism. Upholding the dignity of the person means instead acknowledging the value of human life, which is freely given us and hence cannot be an object of trade or commerce. . . . To tend to those in need takes strength and tenderness, effort and generosity in the midst of a functionalistic and privatized mind-set that inexorably leads to a throwaway culture. To care for individuals and peoples in need means protecting memory and hope; it means taking responsibility for the present with its situations of utter marginalization and anguish and being capable of bestowing dignity upon it.160

To give . . . hope means more than simply acknowledging the centrality of the human person; it also implies nurturing the gifts of each man and woman. It means investing in individuals and in those settings in which their talents are shaped and flourish.

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