One of the cardinal points, perhaps the most important, of Pope Francis' pontificate was represented by the conviction that at the centre of the Christian message is mercy, to which the pastor "who came from the ends of the earth" dedicated an extraordinary Jubilee (2015-2016) and continuous references throughout his mission as head of the Church.
But what is mercy? How should it be expressed? And why is it so closely linked to the fight against waste (of both material and immaterial goods) and to sustainability?
It was Pope Francis himself, in a beautiful Apostolic Exhortation entitled 'Gaudete et exultate' and focused on the theme of holiness in the contemporary world (we can all be saints on earth...), to clearly define the scope of mercy. With its double meaning.
The first: to give, which then (almost) always means to receive; to help, without greed, without asking too many questions, but with enthusiasm and with generosity; serving others, where the first step in making ourselves available to our neighbors, everywhere, from the family to men and women who have ended up in the dark circle of the Last, is to recognize them, and thus defeat the virus of our indifference. The second meaning of mercy, however, in the so effective words of Pope Francis's summary, refers to the ability to to forgive and understand. Two very simple verbs to pronounce in their essence, but very complicated to live, especially if we remain trapped in the pain of a wound that we cannot heal. An offense, a betrayal, a tragedy. We are human, and forgiving and understanding are not easy choices. But they are necessary, even indispensable, choices, as we have written several times on this site.
About the Non sprecare website and our community, the relationship between mercy and sustainability, as we understand it in our editorial manifesto, it's really very tight. We cannot feel at peace with our consciences, mature and responsible men and women, without contributing, each one to the extent they can, to objectives that are crucial to trying to restore order in a world so upside down and so unjust. Eliminating hunger, fighting poverty, allow everyone, everywhere, equal and effective access to education: go ahead with the 17 points of the UN Agenda 2030 and you will see that the two central aspects of mercy (giving-helping and forgiving-understanding)
The Myth Shattered: How False Sustainability Has Made the World More Unjust by Antonio Galdo (Codice Edizioni): if you want to read the book click here
Francis, it has become almost rhetorical to recall, has left an indelible mark on the Church, and he did so also thanks to the opening of his pontificate, inspired precisely by mercy. He was a pope who, speaking of waste, said clearly and bluntly: "Whoever wastes food is a thief, because he steals it from the table of the poor." A phrase that, alone, if understood in its full force, would be capable of eliminating the scandal of food waste in the world. He is a pope who has fought openly, beyond his sweet and good-natured smile and his outbursts of anger, against the abuses of that part of the Church and the clergy—unfortunately, we are human, and they too are human—that is very seriously infected. He is a pope who has cultivated the value of the memory: continually remembering the many Christian martyrs throughout the world, whose numbers continue to grow. This is a pope who, as a shepherd, taught his flock the essence of the Beatitudes, one of the most moving pages of the Gospel, not only in heaven but already on earth, overturning so many paradigms that pollute our hearts and our actions.
A paradigm shift that applies to everyone: failing to acknowledge the tragedy of poverty, marginalization, exclusion, and the impact of others, wherever they may be. It is the word of the Beatitudes that reminds us, clearly and forcefully, that the last will be first.
We can all be merciful, and if we succeed as Christians, then we have taken a decisive step on our journey. There will be few, very few, who will not be able to access divine mercy, that of God: among these are men of the Church and in general those who exercise ministry, guilty of sexual abuse, almost always of minors. To them, Pope Francis, aware that the pedophilia has become the Absolute Evil for Christian communities throughout the world, capable of putting at risk the very survival of the Church, he dedicated an explicit and very severe message: «Convert, hand yourselves over to human justice and prepare yourselves for justice
divine! And at that point God will be merciful to them too.
Read also:
- Excuse me, thank you, and sorry: Pope Francis's three words for living well.
- The Pope who doesn't waste, this is how Francis is changing the entire Vatican
- "Banks are saved, but not people. Shame!" (Pope Francis)
- Communicating with Silence: Pope Francis's Lesson to the Wordspeople of Nothing
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