Pope Francis: ‘Let Us Dream’

Pope Francis has written a book during the coronavirus pandemic and was published only the last month of this year. The book is Let Us Dream: The Path To A Better Future. In this book, he writes that “…he has seen the cruelty and inequity of our society more vividly exposed than before.” But he also urges that the pain of the pandemic should not be suffered in vain.

The book is only 149 pages long, including a glossary of notes. This seems to be more of a handbook than a real book. It is divided into three parts. Part One is “A Time to See.” He explores what this crisis can teach us about how to handle upheaval of any kind in our lives and the world at large. Here he talks candidly of three crises in his life or his three “Covids” – his illness and his experiences when he was assigned in Germany and Cordoba. He says crisis presents us with a choice. Either we can return to the pre-crisis state which would be a grievous error, or have the courage to change and emerge from the crisis a better person.

This is so relevant because most people I know are simply waiting for the pandemic to end and life to return to “normal,” which means the same as it was before. The hardships we went through during the pandemic would be wasted if we do not have the courage to change based on our experiences during the coronavirus epidemic.

Part Two is “A Time to Choose.” He offers a critique of the systems and ideologies that conspired to produce the current crisis or made it worse than it could have been. He talks of a global economy obsessed with profit and heedless of people and environment, and politicians who foment people’s fears and use that to increase their own power. He reminds us that a Christian’s first duty is to serve others, especially the poor and marginalized.

Part Three is “A Time to Act.” The pope offers an actionable blueprint for building a better world for all humanity that puts the poor and the planet at the center of this proposed new form of thinking. In his book, he also offers dozens of observations and insights on this new way of thinking. I cannot print all these observations because of lack of space. Here are a few that I found very wise and inspiring.

In Part One of his book, he says: “The people most invested in the current way of doing things are doing just that. There are leaders talking about making a few adjustments here and there, but they are basically advocating for the same system as before...” He believes that “...they all want to make sure nothing changes. I am convinced that this will lead to an even greater failure, one that could ignite a huge social explosion.”

“…billions rescuing banks and financial markets and people had to endure a decade of severe austerity.” He reminds us that we should not make the same mistake. He asks: “If the choice is between saving lives and saving the financial system, which will we choose? And if we go ahead now into a world recession, will we adapt the economy to the needs of the people and creation, or will we continue to sacrifice these to keep the status quo?”

Some of the thoughts and proposals in this book Pope Francis has mentioned in his previous encyclicals. For example, he writes: “Consider, for example, the distance between our need to protect and regenerate Mother Earth and an economic model that regards growth at any cost as its prime objective… The fixation with economic growth has become destabilizing, producing vast inequalities and putting the natural world out of balance.”

From his first to his last encyclical and in many of his writings, Pope Francis has talked of the abuses caused by the market economy. He has said that the “trickle down” has never worked. In this book, he repeats many of his messages:

“The laissez faire centered approach confuses ends and means. Rather than being seen as a source of dignity, work becomes merely a means of production, profit turns into a goal rather than a means to achieving greater good. From here we can end up subscribing to the tragically mistaken belief that whatever is good for the market is good for society… Left to their own devices, markets have generated vast inequality and huge ecological damage. Once capital becomes an idol that presides over a socio-economic system, it enslaves us, sets us at odds with each other, excludes the poor and endangers the planet we all share.”

Pope Francis spends several pages elaborating on this theme of income inequality. He writes: “There is today a major disjuncture between the awareness of social rights on the one hand and the distribution of actual opportunities on the other. The stupendous rise in inequality of recent decades is not a stage of growth but a brake on it, and the root of many social ills in the 21st century. Barely more than one percent of the world’s population owns half of its wealth. A market ever more detached from morality, dazzled by its own complex engineering which privileges profit and competition above all means not just spectacular wealth for a few but also poverty and deprivation for many. Millions are robbed of hope.”

Pope Francis offers a blueprint for an action plan to address these issues. I plan to write about these in future columns.

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An invitation for online writing classes: Young writers’ hangout with internationally published romance writer Mina Esguerra on Dec. 12, 2-3 p.m.

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