Pope Francis delivers his catechesis during the weekly General Audience
(Vatican Media)
At the
General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis invites us to cure the
“virus” of social injustice, inequality of opportunity, marginalization,
and the lack of protection for the weakest.
By Christopher Wells
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has not only “exposed the plight of the poor and the serious inequality that reigns in the world,” but even exacerbated them, Pope Francis said at the Wednesday General Audience.
Continuing his catechesis on “Healing the World,” the Holy Father said our response to the pandemic must be twofold: “finding a cure for this small but terrible virus,” but also curing “a larger virus, that of social injustice, inequality of opportunity, marginalisation, and lack of protection for the weakest.”
In meeting that challenge, he said, we must always keep in mind the “preferential option for the poor.” This is not a political, ideological, or partisan option, he said. Rather, "the preferential option for the poor is at the centre of the Gospel."
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has not only “exposed the plight of the poor and the serious inequality that reigns in the world,” but even exacerbated them, Pope Francis said at the Wednesday General Audience.
Continuing his catechesis on “Healing the World,” the Holy Father said our response to the pandemic must be twofold: “finding a cure for this small but terrible virus,” but also curing “a larger virus, that of social injustice, inequality of opportunity, marginalisation, and lack of protection for the weakest.”
In meeting that challenge, he said, we must always keep in mind the “preferential option for the poor.” This is not a political, ideological, or partisan option, he said. Rather, "the preferential option for the poor is at the centre of the Gospel."
Closeness to the poor
Following the example of Jesus, the Pope said, Christians “are recognised by their closeness to the poor, the least, the sick and the imprisoned, the excluded and the forgotten, those without food and clothing.” This, he said, “is a key criterion of Christian authenticity.” And he emphasised that it is not the duty only of a few, but of every Christian: “It is the mission of the Church as a whole.”The preference for the poor is rooted in the virtues of faith, hope and love. Going beyond the bare necessities, “it implies walking together, allowing ourselves be evangelized by [the poor], who know the suffering Christ well, letting ourselves be ‘infected’ by their experience of salvation, their wisdom, and creativity.”