Fight for social and economic justice

On Friday, September 20, Pope Francis visited the headquarters of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development for the event “Raising a Flag Against Dehumanization.” Representatives of popular movements were waiting for him on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the first world meeting of popular movements (wmpm) with the Pope, which took place in Rome in 2014.

As a space of brotherhood between grassroots organizations from five continents, the meeting promotes the culture of encounter in support of the “3 Ts” (Techo, Tierra, Trabajo – Housing, Land, Work) with the aim of conducting a dialogue and reflecting on the path since 2014 to address today's challenges for the benefit of social justice and peace in our common home.

Upon his arrival, Pope Francis sat among the participants and listened to a discussion about how to ensure that “no family is without a home, no farmer is without land, no worker is without rights, and no person is without the dignity that comes with work.” brings itself”, as the WMPM formulated motto says. He then gave a long speech in Spanish in which he addressed social justice, called for care for the most vulnerable and emphasized the value of “compassion.”

The Holy Father called on the rich to share their resources, reminding them that wealth “is meant to be shared, to create and promote brotherhood.” and that “without love we are nothing.” All relationships should be based on this love, he added, since justice must be pursued without violence, as is the example of the widow in the Gospel.

Pope Francis highlighted a central theme Evangelii Gaudium: the need to address the problems of the poor by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation. He pointed out that “we all depend on the poor, even the rich,” and acknowledged that some criticize him for speaking more about the poor than the middle class. However, he emphasized that it is the gospel that puts the poor at the center.

He warned that without equitable policies that ensure access to land, housing and fair wages, “the logic of material and human waste will spread, paving the way for violence and devastation.” Unfortunately,” he added, “it is often the richest who oppose the realization of social justice or holistic ecology out of sheer greed,” which is often masked by ideology, but is the same greed that pressures governments to adopt harmful policies to support. However, he emphasized that wealth must be shared “not as charity,” but “fraternally.” He called on popular movements to demand this change, pointing out that a “perverse view of reality” glorifies the accumulation of wealth as a virtue when in reality it is a vice. “Accumulation is not virtuous. distribution is. Jesus did not accumulate; It has multiplied,” the pope said, condemning uncontrolled competition for wealth as a destructive force that is “irresponsible, immoral and irrational.”

The Holy Father called on leaders to listen to the “cry of the excluded,” which has the power to awaken the conscience of political leaders responsible for enforcing economic, social and cultural rights. He noted that these rights are recognized by most nations and the United Nations, although they remain largely unfulfilled in socio-economic realities.

Justice, the Pope explained, must be accompanied by compassion, which does not mean giving alms from a position of privilege, but rather reaching out to others with empathy and solidarity. “True compassion creates unity and the beauty of the world,” he said. At the same time, he condemned the “culture of winners,” which is an aspect of the “culture of waste.” This practice, often based on the exploitation of people or nature, or on the exploitation of financial speculation, tax evasion or organized crime, leads some to arrogantly despise so-called “losers”. The pope warned that this attitude of “looking down on others with indifference or contempt” fuels violence, because silence in the face of injustice paves the way to social division, social division paves the way to verbal violence, verbal violence paves the way to physical violence Violence Violence and Physical Violence to War.”

Pope Francis concluded by reaffirming the need for love in every aspect of life, because “social justice and holistic ecology can only be understood through love.” The pursuit of self-interest and individualism leads to a form of “social Darwinism,” he said, in which the law of the strongest justifies indifference and cruelty. He encouraged popular movements to resist any attempt to erase cultural memory or identity, symbolized by his reference to “crocodiles” attempting to devour the values ​​of communities.

Pope Francis expressed concern about the rise of organized crime, which thrives on poverty and exclusion, and called for the continued fight against the criminal economy through economics. He emphasized that no child or person should be in the hands of “dealers of death.” In his closing remarks, the Holy Father renewed his call for a universal basic income to ensure that no one is deprived of basic needs in the age of automation and artificial intelligence. He emphasized that this is not just a matter of “compassion” but of “strict justice.”

Finally, he addressed young people and spoke about the importance of hope, which he described as the weakest of all virtues, but which is never disappointing: “I very much hope that the new generations will find a much better world than the one we have have received.” “.

By Tiziana Campisi