We ignore Pope Francis’ words at our peril

Mar 01, 2024

By Robert Mickens
“Either we do not realise it or we are pretending not to see that we are on the brink of the abyss.” Pope Francis uttered those chilling words in a recent interview that appeared in the Italian daily La Stampa recently. “A global cease-fire is urgent,” he warned.

The 87-year-old Pope, who is increasingly showing signs of old age and declining health, has not scaled back his efforts to use the bully pulpit of the Roman papacy to offer moral guidance to a world that seems to have gone mad. And though at times his speech is slower and he can appear somewhat out of breath, he has certainly not lost his prophetic voice. “I will never tire of reiterating my call, addressed in particular to those who have political responsibility: stop the bombs and missiles now, put an end to hostilities. Everywhere!” he said in this latest interview.

Pope Francis, who has repeatedly pointed out that humanity is embroiled in a “piecemeal world war three”, also hammered home — as he’s done so many times before — that war is a dead-end path.

“War is always a defeat. For everyone,” he said. “The only ones who benefit are the manufacturers and traffickers of arms,” he insisted, condemning once again the weapons industry as he did on Christmas Day in his Urbi et Orbi message.

On that occasion he was even more forceful. But no one seemed to be listening. It did not get many headlines then and it’s not getting much ink now. Who, in fact, is writing about the huge amounts of money that are being spent on weapons? Who is talking about the people — including Christians, or specifically Catholics — who invest in the companies that create the “components” for “defence and security systems”, to borrow the euphemistic terms that decent, God-fearing people who are involved in the arms industry like to use. And, by the way, that includes those who support the manufacturing and legalisation of guns (especially assault weapons) for the use of private citizens in places like the United States... Don’t think so?

Ponder again these words of Pope Francis: “The human heart is weak and impulsive; if we find instruments of death in our hands, sooner or later we will use them.” Guns are made for one purpose only ? to injure and kill.

The Pope is not a utopian. He is a radical disciple of Jesus the Christ and His Gospel. He tries to look at the world with the eyes and attitude of the Nazarene. He sees that we’re all children of the one and same God, and he is warning that the idiotic and bloody wars we wage against each other will end up destroying us all. In his interview with La Stampa, he said there’s only one way to end this. “Dialogue. Dialogue. Dialogue. And then (creating) a spirit of solidarity and human fraternity,” he said. “We cannot go on killing each other as brothers and sisters! It makes no sense!”

The Pope’s wise, yet challenging words are not just for Christians or limited to people who claim to be religious. They are words for the entire human race, the human “family”. But Francis also had some important words that were more specifically aimed at Catholics. He was asked about the stir he’s caused among some in our faith community by insisting — as he did last August at World Youth Day in Lisbon — that “all people” (Tutti! Tutti! Tutti!) are welcome in the Church.

Most recently some Catholics have complained about his decision to allow non-liturgical blessing for same-sex couples. Here’s how he answered: “They ask me why. I res-pond by saying that the Gospel is for sanctifying all people (tutti).

Obviously, as long as there’s good will. And there need to be precise instructions about the Christian life (I stress that unions are not being blessed, but the individuals are). But we are all sinners. So why do we draw up a list of sinners who can be a part of the Church and a list of sinners who cannot be part of the Church? This is not the Gospel.”

It’s not just the traditionalist, doctrinally rigid or even African Catholics who might draw up a list of sinners that should not be welcomed in the Church, in this case, people in the LGBTQ community. If we’re honest, we all tend to have our own lists. We are tempted to think our sins are not as grave (or “mortal” to use the classical language) as compared to the evil perpetrated by some. Perhaps we think we are thus a bit more “worthy” of, say, receiving the Eucharist. But is there anyone who is really worthy?

Pope Francis has again reminded us — both as a human family and a Church community — that we are actually all in the same boat. Either we all go together or we don’t go at all. Tutti! Tutti! Tutti! --LCI (https://international.la-croix.com)