Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was something more, but on the night of the State of the Union address I found in my email inbox a letter that Pope Francis had released even while he was in Gemelli Hospital recovering from double pneumonia. Entitled “The End of the World? Crises, Responsibilities, Hopes,” it is Pope Francis’ plea to the Pontifical Academy of Life for a response to what he calls the “polycrisis” in which we are enveloped. In his words, “the dramatic nature of the historical juncture we are currently witnessing, in which wars, climate changes, energy problems, epidemics, the migratory phenomenon and technological innovation converge.”
As I read Pope Francis’ outline of steps needed to respond to our current “polycrisis,” I was seized by the desire to hear Franciscan voices who might “reframe” our present context with a Franciscan interpretive lens and offer concrete suggestions as to how we might respond to the pressing issues of our day as Franciscans.
Thus was born this series of monthly reflections on Franciscan responses to the signs of our times: Franciscan analyses of some of the crises we are facing and suggestions for practical actions that will help us to remain aligned to the Gospel and to be witnesses of hope and prophets of an alternative future.
What are the needed steps that Pope Francis outlines in his letter?
First, examining with greater attention the way we understand our world and the cosmos, so as to transform consciences and social practices.
Second, profoundly revising the parameters we use to understand anthropology and culture.
Third, avoiding the adoption of utilitarian deregulation and global neoliberalism that can amount to social Darwinism—that the law of the strongest is the only law.
Fourth, considering more deeply the relationship and interdependence among all things, viewing human beings as embedded in and connected with the entire ecosystem of living things.
Fifth, understanding that fulness of life is intrinsically linked to a lived union with others—i.e., in order to become individuals we must be part of a larger “we.”
Sixth, appreciating the need for international organizations that provide for the global common good, the elimination of hunger and poverty, and the defense of fundamental human rights.
With fraternal best wishes and prayerful hope for a transformative Lenten season.
Lawrence J. Hayes, OFM
Provincial Minister
