OPINION- POPE FRANCIS
This is the first of a series giving the opinion of world leaders on the challenge of the pandemic.
This is not humanity's first plague; the others have become
mere anecdotes
Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, has been
living in isolation in the Vatican, which has the highest incidence of COVID-19
of any state. He livestreams his morning mass and, like others in the Vatican,
works ‘from home’ and eats his meals in his room. He has given a number of
interviews relating to the epidemic.
The crisis has revealed the extent to which modern life is
organized around money rather than people, he says. It is driving world leaders
to rush to try to save lives, even as they keep building massive arsenals. "This
crisis is affecting us all, rich and poor alike, and putting a spotlight on
hypocrisy. I am
worried by the hypocrisy of certain political personalities who speak of facing
up to the crisis, of the problem of hunger in the world, but who in the
meantime manufacture weapons.”
Francis acknowledged that some governments have "taken
exemplary measures" in prioritizing people's safety over any other concern.
He added, "But we're realizing that all our thinking, like it or not, has
been shaped around the economy. In the world of finance it has seemed normal to
sacrifice people, to practice a politics of the throwaway culture, from the
beginning to the end of life.
He specifically mentioned the photograph of homeless people placed on the ground in a car park while hotels sat empty behind them.
He specifically mentioned the photograph of homeless people placed on the ground in a car park while hotels sat empty behind them.
He urged people to
slow down their lives, to consume less and "learn to understand and
contemplate the natural world." He recalls “the saints who live next door. “They
are heroes: doctors, volunteers, religious sisters, priests, shop workers—all
performing their duty so that society can continue functioning.”
"We can either get depressed and alienated—through media that
can take us out of our reality—or we can get creative."
He calls for the building of
“a civilization of love,” which he described as “a civilization of hope,”
contrary to one marked by “anguish and fear, sadness and discouragement,
passivity and tiredness.”This
civilization “has to be built daily” and requires “the commitment of everyone.”
On April 8 he launched a COVID-19 emergency fund and appointed
Father Zampini says rescue packages should not repeat the mistakes that were made in 2008, when the focus was on saving the big financial institutions. This time they must also work to rescue the people. Money needs to be transferred from armament production to global health.
A rift erupted after April 30, when Italian bishops sought to have restrictions lifted for mass, but Pope Francis ordered churchgoers to stay at home.
A rift erupted after April 30, when Italian bishops sought to have restrictions lifted for mass, but Pope Francis ordered churchgoers to stay at home.
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