Card. Bo: Fratelli tutti and Asia, after the pandemic we must choose
A letter from the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences to the bishops and churches of Asia. Will Asia choose individual greed or will it strive for the common good? Much depends on how we rebuild society after the coronavirus".
Yangoon (AsiaNews) - “Our Asian realities are echoed in the urgent message of Fratelli Tutti. Asia is at the crossroads. The path we take will decide the inheritance we leave to our next generation.” This is the consideration that prompted Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, president of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences to write a "Letter to the Bishops and Churches of Asia" in which he proposes some thoughts on Francis's latest encyclical and Asia.
Dated 12 October, the letter begins with the observation that 2020 "is and has been for many of you, and for your people, a time of chaos, fear and loss. It is heavy for you, it is claustrophobic to be forced to stay at home and to keep your churches closed. Calendars are empty. Donations are drying up. There is increased hunger among our poor. Naturally we fear for the future. Yet Francis urges us not to make superficial responses to this time of crisis. We never stop being on mission. Now is a time to build respect for one another, to live as we wish the world to be in the future. "If the Church is alive, it must always surprise".
“There is more than one pandemic in the world now, Francis is telling us. COVID--19 only exposes these underlying systemic ailments. Racism, inequity, hate speech, disregard for the poor, the elderly and the unborn, trafficking of women and children - all are with us in pandemic proportions. You are each painfully aware of where the culture of death is present in your dioceses, your local Churches, in your societies. We know that for at least eighteen countries of Asia the death penalty is still legal. We have commerce in weapons in Asia and some of the longest running wars in the world. Millions have no choice but to leave their families and go abroad to find work.”
The Good Samaritan
In Fratelli Tutti Francis "leads us in an extended Ignatian meditation on the well known Gospel parable of the Samaritan who was moved with compassion. There is an ancient Jewish understanding that parables are intended to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. Christ's words to the scholar of the law are addressed to us. Francis asks us to put ourselves into this story and imagine ourselves alternatively as one of the religious passers-by, as the victim, even as one of the robbers, perhaps as the scholar of the law, or as the inn keeper who is amazed at the generosity of the rescuer, and finally as the Samaritan. Then we are faced again with the question, 'who is my neighbour?' and the inescapable question to our hearts: are we moved by compassion? Love builds bridges. We are moved to affirm that we were made for love.”
"Inspired by the meditation on the parable, Francis charts a common course for humanity through commitment to peace, the rejection of war and capital punishment, encouragement of forgiveness and reconciliation within societies and care for our common home. When we look with eyes sharpened by this Gospel, we will recognise Christ in every excluded person. Whatever excludes the poorest persons is exposed. We are called to critique the culture of waste and to defend the human rights of people made vulnerable by society: women, children, racial minorities, refugees, the unborn, the aged and many others. Respect for persons and for the common good only grow from true fraternity. In the hunger that our people face daily, we also see inspiring examples of compassion in the sharing of food and the Good Samaritans who volunteer their service to care for others.”
Card. Bo then notes that the encyclical initially had to be centred on "fraternal relations between religions, exemplified in the spirit of fraternity with which he signed the declaration in Abu Dhabi with the Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb. Yet, as he wrote, the world was overwhelmed by the pandemic”. A situation very present in Asia.
Evangelii Gaudium, Laudato sì, Fratelli Tutti – a tryptich:
Cardinal Bo continues: “The three great encyclicals of Pope Francis complement one another. Evangelii Gaudium prays for reconciliation with God. Laudato sì is a cry from the heart that calls for reconciliation with creation. Fratelli Tutti pleads for reconciliation, dialogue and solidarity among all humanity as sisters and brothers. Pope Francis wants us to be aware that God's presence permeates the world, inspiring persons of all cultures and religions to promote reconciliation and peace. As servants of Christ's mission today we are invited to assist him as he sets right our relationships with God, with creation and with other human beings.”
Where the lack of fraternity creates selfishness, hostility and a closed world, the Gospel calls for an open world and open hearts. There are no 'others', no 'them,' there is only 'us'. We want, with God and in God, an open world, a world without walls, without borders, without people rejected, without strangers. To achieve an open world, we must have open hearts. To achieve universal fraternity, our social ethic will be a call to solidarity, encounter, and gratuitousness. Only a better kind of politics will create an open world with an open heart: politics for the common and universal good; politics for and with the people; politics that seeks human dignity; politics of women and men who practice political love; politics that integrates the economy and the social and cultural fabric into a consistent, life-giving human project.
Our Asian realities are echoed in the urgent message of Fratelli Tutti. Asia is at the crossroads. The path we take will decide the inheritance we leave to our next generation. Will it be wasted or saved? Will Asia choose individual greed or commit to the common good? Much depends on how we rebuild society after coronavirus. Many governments in Asia are attempting to return to tried and failed economic and social models, so urgency is appropriate.
Even if "as Catholics we could only be a minority", Francis "encourages us to speak strongly to everyone as brothers and sisters". “May - ends the letter - the call of our Holy Father to solidarity, encounter and gratuitousness find an echo in your lives and communities. May you accept Pope Francis' insistent invitation to dialogue, respect and generosity towards every human being”.
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