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August 26, 2020By Francesca Merlo
Pope Francis opened his catechesis on Wednesday by inviting the faithful to “welcome the gift of hope that comes from Christ”, especially during the pandemic, in which "many risk losing hope".
The Pope explained that it is Christ who “helps us to navigate the tumultuous waters of sickness, death and injustice, which do not have the last word over our final destination.”
Continuing his catechesis on Healing the World, the Holy Father focused on the universal destination of goods and the virtue of hope.
Pope Francis: We cannot go back to old ways after the pandemicPandemic and social inequalities
Pope Francis went on to note that many social inequalities have been “highlighted and aggravated” by the pandemic. Many children are unable to continue receiving their education while many others instead can; some people are unable to continue their work from home, but many others can; and many nations cannot issue money to deal with the emergency without harming their financial future, while others can.
“These symptoms of inequality reveal a social illness. It is a virus that comes from a sick economy…the result of unequal economic growth, which disregards fundamental human values.”
“In today's world, very few rich people possess more than the rest of humanity. It is an injustice that cries out to heaven!”
Reflecting the design of Creation
This “sin of wanting to possess and dominate our brothers and sisters...nature and God Himself...is not the design of creation", said the Pope.
He reminded the faithful that God gave the earth to all of us to care for and cultivate. God invited us to dominate the earth in His name, cultivating and tending it like a garden, "everyone's garden".
23/07/2020
Vatican publishes book containing Pope Francis’s “lockdown” homilies
Vatican Publishing House publishes downloadable .pdf publication containing Pope Francis’s daily homilies from Casa Santa Marta and prayers suggested for the Coronavirus pandemic.This garden must be protected and preserved, continued the Pope. This cannot be interpreted in a way that allows us "to do whatever we want with the earth. The Pope stressed that it has been given to us by God to the whole human race. Therefore, "it is our duty to make sure that its fruit reaches everyone, not just a few people.”
Political authorities
Pope Francis went on to stress that, in order to ensure that what we possess "brings value to the community", political authorities have the right and the duty to "regulate the legitimate exercise of the right to ownership for the sake of the common good."
Although “property and money are instruments that can serve the mission”, we easily turn them into "individual or collective" ends, said the Pope.
When this happens, he explained, essential human values are undermined. “We forget that, being created in the image and likeness of God, we are social, creative and solidary beings, with an immense capacity to love.”
"With our gaze fixed on Jesus and with the certainty that His love is operative through the community of His disciples, we must all act together in the hope of generating something different and better. Christian hope, rooted in God, is our anchor. It moves the will to share, strengthening our mission as disciples of Christ, Who shared everything with us."
07/08/2020
Life after the Pandemic with Pope Francis
A book-companion for responding to the Covid-19 pandemic through the vision and words of Pope Francis.Concluding his catechesis, the Pope said that, if we take care of the goods that the Creator gives us and if we share what we possess so that no one is lacking, then indeed "we can inspire hope to regenerate a more healthy and equal world."
Finally, Pope Francis invited the faithful to "think about the children", so many of whom are suffering due to this unjust economic system. Many are dying, hungry, lacking the opportunity to an education. After the crisis, he stressed, we must be better.
Playback of General Audience 26 August 2020