Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Thus people are disposed of, as if they were trash: It cannot stay this way!


Pope Francis seemed quite angry in today's audience as he spoke about ecology, the waste of human beings and resources, here is an excerpt - my emphasis. His reference to "human ecology", taken up by the media when used by Pope Benedict as a reference to gay marriage and the destruction of the family is perhaps significant following the recent changes in the law in Britain and France.
.....  to "cultivate and care" encompasses not only the relationship between us and the environment, between man and creation, it also regards human relationships. The Popes have spoken of human ecology, closely linked toenvironmental ecology. We are living in a time of crisis: we see this in the environment, but above all we see this in mankind. The human person is in danger: this is certain, the human person is in danger today, here is the urgency of human ecology! And it is a serious danger because the cause of the problem is not superficial but profound: it is not just a matter of economics, but of ethics and anthropology. The Church has stressed this several times, and many say, yes, that's right, it's true ... but the system continues as before, because it is dominated by the dynamics of an economy and finance that lack ethics. Man is not in charge today, money is in charge, money rules. God our Father did not give the task of caring for the earth to money, but to us, to men and women: we have this task! Instead, men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption: it is the "culture of waste."
If you break a computer it is a tragedy, but poverty, the needs, the dramas of so many people end up becoming the norm. If on a winter’s night, here nearby in Via Ottaviano, for example, a person dies, that is not news. If in so many parts of the world there are children who have nothing to eat, that's not news, it seems normal. It cannot be this way! Yet these things become the norm: that some homeless people die of cold on the streets is not news. In contrast, a ten point drop on the stock markets of some cities, is a tragedy. A person dying is not news, but if the stock markets drop ten points it is a tragedy! Thus people are disposed of, as if they were trash.

This "culture of waste" tends to become the common mentality that infects everyone. Human life, the person is no longer perceived as a primary value to be respected and protected, especially if poor or disabled, if not yet useful - such as the unborn child - or no longer needed - such as the elderly. This culture of waste has made us insensitive even to the waste and disposal of food, which is even more despicable when all over the world, unfortunately, many individuals and families are suffering from hunger and malnutrition.
Once our grandparents were very careful not to throw away any leftover food. Consumerism has led us to become used to an excess and daily waste of food, to which, at times, we are no longer able to give a just value, which goes well beyond mere economic parameters. We should all remember, however, that the food we throw away is as if stolen from the table of the poor, the hungry! I encourage everyone to reflect on the problem of thrown away and wasted food to identify ways and means that, by seriously addressing this issue, are a vehicle of solidarity and sharing with the needy.
"It cannot stay this way", but how do we change it?

4 comments:

Robert said...

Britian and France, as well as the rest of western Europe is no longer Christian. We need to face the facts. It's been that way for quite a long time. When I was in university back in the early nineties. a friend from Norway told me that "if Christ or God were to step onto Norwegian soil he would be brought up for murder for letting the holocaust to take place as well as other crimes to go on. If he exists let him strike me down now" This was the comments from a Scandinavian and friend . Scandinavia which is considered one of the best places in the world to live, with the friendliest people. Friendly but not towards belief in God. This thinking was back in the nineties. Now the rest of Europe feels the same way. No Pope will change that, not even a united Church will change that. It will take God and "him" only to change that way of thinking. I will never let western society's political correctness to change my faith, and how I practice my faith. I will never accept secular society's interpretation of "equal rights". Only Gods interpretation of "equal rights". And God created Adam and Eve.

The Bones said...

Very powerful homily from the Holy Father.

Glenna said...

This is righteous anger, like Jesus in the Temple. He should be angry. Every Catholic worth the name should be angry too...but we're not because we're asleep. Sedated by our comforts & our entertainments.

johnh said...

Vibrant,drum thumping truth. I look forward to seeing the video. Pope Francis is right in all he has said here. People dying or starving is NOT news. We are anesthetized against any suffering through 24 hour news coverage , the depravity of society and the fact that we wander around with our heads up our backsides.
While I may differ from our Holy Father liturgicaly , I am inspired by his words. Alas , the middle man says nothing. Just a shuffling of chairs and the sound of the lid being removed from the biscuit tin at Eccleston Square.

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