Pope Francis has presented “a plan for the rising up again” of humanity in the midst of a global crisis brought about the coronavirus pandemic.
He shared it in an exclusive meditation in the website of the Spanish magazine Vida Nueva, in which he calls on Christians to be joyful witnesses of Christ’s victory over death amidst Covid-19.
The invitation to be joyful sounds like a provocation or a bad joke when the world is contending with the grave consequences brought about by Covid-19. It is precisely in the middle of our aching humanity that Jesus’ followers are summoned to be agents of hope and healing.
I cannot help but laud the self-giving of medical personnel in treating patients suffering from the infectious disease. Many of these front liners have been infected while others have died. Their lives stand out as signs of God’s presence and love for us.
One of the lessons from this tragedy is that humans are not in control of everything. God is in charge. Maybe He is teaching us that the course of life we have been treading on our own is leading us to a precipice.
So, time has come to turn about in the post Covid-19 world. Looking at the planet today, we need to rethink our current economic system. The economy continues to widen social disparities between the few rich and the majority poor. In a post pandemic scenario, citizens should refuse to go back to the actual economic model that is impoverishing people and destroying the planet.
Civil society, religions and churches should hold accountable governments for continuing to spend huge amounts of money in armament while allocating meager funds for health, education and emergency relief.
Recently, Cardinal Tagle appealed to rich countries to write off the debts of poor nations in the current Covid-19 crisis.
The coronavirus pandemic is especially hurting workers who have no steady income to get them through the global health crisis. It may be time to consider a universal basic wage, proposed by Pope Francis, that would “acknowledge and dignify the noble, essential tasks” these workers carry out.
In the reflection cited above, Pope Francis emphasizes that the only way to conquer the coronavirus is through “the antibodies of solidarity”. It means that we are all in the same boat and no one is saved alone. We better act together and start working as one people to have a real impact against the current scourge. A global problem needs a united and global response.
