ON JANUARY 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Church also marks the World Day of Peace. In his message for the occasion, A Culture of Care as a Path to Peace, Pope Francis calls for a common, supportive and inclusive commitment to protecting and promoting the dignity and good of all, a willingness to show care and compassion, to work for reconciliation and healing, and to advance mutual respect and acceptance.
When the Catholic Church first celebrated World Day of Peace in 1968, it was desired that “this annual commemoration be a hope and a promise, at the beginning of the calendar year which measures and outlines the path of human life in time, that peace with its just and beneficent equilibrium may dominate the development of events to come.”
At the beginning of 2021, the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic is still creating fear and havoc in many countries; it takes away thousands of lives every day and places psychological stress on people, especially the elderly and those in care homes. Financial pundits fear of that the possibility of severe world economic recession is on the cards and the poor of the world will bear the brunt of it unless a peace-building process is initiated through a culture of care.
Luis Cardinal Tagle, president of Caritas International, recently said that the Covid-19 pandemic could draw out “a social type of love” when people join hands to deal with the social and economic impact of the pandemic. The Filipino cardinal, has himself recovered from Covid-19 after testing positive when he landed Manila last September. While admitting that he had struggled with “fear and anxiety” during quarantine and treatment, he said, “your existence depends on a rediscovery of the reality that you are not alone, you are always connected.”
It is this connectedness that should give us courage to face the challenges of times without fear. This sense of connectedness is witnessed all around us—in the committed service of all the frontline personnel in the fight against the pandemic.
In his massage, Pope Francis once again draws our attention to his call for “care for creation, our common home.” He repeats his plea for “government leaders and those of international organisations, business leaders, scientists, communicators and educators, to take up” the principles of care for our common home which alone can “enable us to esteem the value and dignity of every person, to act together in solidarity for the common good, and to bring relief to those suffering from poverty, disease, slavery, armed conflicts, and discrimination.”
The culture of care does not just stay on the interpersonal level, but it is also deeply linked with Catholic social teaching. It is “offered to all people of good will as a precious patrimony of principles, criteria and proposals that can serve as a ‘grammar’ of care: commitment to promoting the dignity of each human person, solidarity with the poor and vulnerable, in pursuit of the common good and concern for protection of creation.”
Under the threat of Covid-19, people are asked to wear the masks to prevent the spread of infection. But if the coronavirus is contagious, so is the culture of care. When we spread this culture and goodness around us, society changes.
We need not to wait for outside factors to change, and we can change our heart and deeds, to make the new year brighter. SE
