This article is published in issue 2-3 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until January 19, 2021
Pope Francis lived through 2020 without being able to travel, but he still managed to get close, next, to all those who suffered from the pandemic and the lockdown through the daily celebration of Mass from Casa Santa Marta, followed by millions of people around the world. And while the coronavirus was claiming victims destabilizing the lives of peoples and the economies of countries, it wasted no time and invited everyone to ask themselves what afterwards: which society, which economy, what future do we want to build?
The challenge is represented in the words spoken on the day of Pentecost: “You know that a crisis like this does not come out the same as before: it comes out better or worse”.
For this reason, resuming the general audiences with a contingent number of faithful present, the Pope wanted to dedicate nine catecheses to the world that will emerge from Covid-19, indicating to everyone some social principles that can help us “prepare the future we need” . These include the principle of the dignity of the person, that of the common good, that of the preferential option for the poor, that of the universal destination of goods and the principle of solidarity. Francis explained that while “we work for the cure of a virus that affects everyone indistinctly, faith urges us to commit ourselves seriously and actively to counteract indifference in the face of violations” of people’s dignity. The invitation is to “rediscover what it means to be members of the human family”, so that “this gaze” can be translated “into concrete actions of compassion and respect for each person”.
True, the virus has affected everyone, without distinction. But, Pope Francis observed during one of the catecheses, “the pandemic has exposed the difficult situation of the poor and the great inequality that reigns in the world. And the virus, while it makes no exceptions among people, has found, in its devastating path, great inequalities and discrimination. And he increased them! ». For this reason, alongside the commitment to cure the coronavirus, “small but terrible”, the Successor of Peter invited “to cure a great virus, that of social injustice, inequality of opportunity, marginalization and lack of protection of the weakest ».
What the whole world has experienced in the year that has just ended and is still experiencing, with its great burden of suffering, therefore also represents an opportunity “to build something different”. “For example – the Pope explained – we can grow an economy of integral development of the poor and not of welfare”, that is to say “an economy that does not resort to remedies that actually poison society, such as yields dissociated from creation of decent jobs ”.
«A virus that knows no barriers, borders or cultural and political distinctions – Francis said – must be faced with a love without barriers, borders or distinctions. This love can generate social structures that encourage us to share rather than compete, which allow us to include the most vulnerable and not discard them, and which help us to express the best of our human nature and not the worst. ” For this reason, the Pope continued to ask for access for all to treatment and vaccines.
There is a parable that the Pontiff wanted to remind believers and non-believers: that of the Good Samaritan, who takes care of those who have been injured in the middle of the road, while others pass by indifferent looking the other way. All brothers, the encyclical signed in Assisi last October, represents a sort of road map to better emerge from the crisis triggered by the pandemic.
It is a challenge contained in the gestures, words and personal testimony of Francis from the beginning of his pontificate. Precisely these considerations are the basis of his choice to resume traveling. The destination of the first pilgrimage, at the beginning of March 2021, says it all: the battered Iraq, devastated by wars, terrorism and pandemic. The presence of Francis can encourage processes of dialogue, peace and reconciliation.
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(Foto: AFP via Getty Images)
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