The Face of Mercy / Daniel Conway

Pandemic sheds light on widespread social diseases

(En Espanol)

“As Jesus’ disciples, we do not want to be indifferent or individualistic. These are two unpleasant attitudes that run counter to harmony. Indifferent: I look the other way. Individualistic: looking out only for one’s own interest.” (Pope Francis, general audience, Aug. 12, 2020)

Shortly after COVID-19 caused an unprecedented shutdown of social activities throughout the world, Pope Francis observed that the “sin of indifference” is an equally serious threat to the world community.

Frequently during his pontificate, the pope has called attention to this threat. He has challenged Christians, those of other faith traditions and all people of good will to cast off both indifference and individualism as obstacles to the health and well-being of the human family and the world we inhabit as stewards of God’s creation.

“The pandemic has highlighted how vulnerable and interconnected everyone is,” the Holy Father said during his general audience on Aug. 12. “If we do not take care of one another, starting with the least, with those who are most impacted, including creation, we cannot heal the world.” This is one of Pope Francis’ firmly held beliefs—the interconnectedness of respect for human dignity and the care for all of creation that is fundamental to our identity as persons made in the image and likeness of God.

The Holy Father offered words of thanks and praise for the women and men on the front lines of the fight against this pandemic and its effects on the lives of millions of people. “They are heroes!” the pope said. They give witness “of human and Christian love for neighbor, dedicating themselves to the sick, even at the risk of their own health.”

At the same time, Pope Francis warned that “the coronavirus is not the only disease to be fought, but rather the pandemic has shed light on broader social ills.” The pope pointed to indifference and individualism—with their distorted views of the human person—as root causes of the social ills that have plagued us since long before the current pandemic.

“At times we look at others as objects, to be used and discarded,” the pope said. “In reality, this blinds and fosters an individualistic and aggressive throwaway culture, which transforms the human being into a consumer good.”

This blindness, previously addressed by Pope Francis in his apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” and his encyclical “Laudato Si’, On Care for Our Common Home,” contradicts God’s plan for women and men created in the divine image.

“In the light of faith, we know that God looks at a man and a woman in another manner,” the pope said. “He has given us a unique dignity, calling us to live in communion with him, in communion with our sisters and brothers, with respect for all creation.”

Communion, not isolation or individualism, is God’s way, and we are all invited, and challenged, to live in harmony with the original design of our Creator.

According to Pope Francis, “the harmony created by God asks that we look at others, the needs of others, the problems of others, in communion.” This requires that we “recognize the human dignity in every person, whatever his or her race, language or condition might be.” Harmony makes it possible for us to regard God’s plan for all creation as a communion of persons whose rights are not only individual but also social. “The human being, indeed, in his or her personal dignity, is a social being, created in the image of God, One and Triune.”

We are social beings who need to live with each other in peace, working together for the good of all, but the reality of sin shatters this blessed harmony. As Pope Francis said, “When there is selfishness, our outlook does not reach others, the community, but focuses on ourselves, and this makes us ugly, nasty and selfish, destroying harmony.”

Respect for the human dignity of individual persons demands that we recognize our identity as social beings who must live in communities (families, neighborhoods, nations and the world community) and who must collaborate for the good of all. When we neglect this responsibility—or actively work against it—we betray our human dignity.

“While we all work for a cure for a virus that strikes everyone without distinction,” the Holy Father said, “faith exhorts us to commit ourselves seriously and actively to combat indifference in the face of violence and human dignity.”

Let’s pray that the Lord will help us rediscover what it means to be members of the human family who care for each other, and the world we live in, out of profound respect for human dignity.
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †