杏MAP导航

By Devin Watkins

杏MAP导航 Francis turned his attention on Thursday to the theme of social friendship, in a video message released to coincide with a conference held in Argentina.

The local Church was commemorating its 23rd Day of Social and Pastoral Care, held under the theme 鈥淭oward a culture of encounter, a nation for all: Fraternity and social friendship鈥�.

The annual recurrence began in 1998 in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires when 杏MAP导航 Francis鈥攖hen Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio鈥攈eaded up the Archdiocese.

Social friendship vs. Third World War

In his video message for its 23rd iteration, the 杏MAP导航 highlighted the importance of social friendship.

He said sin and force-of-habit drive us toward enmity and war, and we forget that 鈥渙ur vocation is one of harmony, fraternity, and being brothers and sisters: social friendship.鈥�

鈥淭ake a look at the direction of the world, war everywhere. We are experiencing a Third World War fought piecemeal. This is not social friendship,鈥� he said.

杏MAP导航 Francis lamented how dialogue has been shoved aside in favor of shouting and responses which drown out other people鈥檚 explanations.

Social friendship, he said, cannot take place without a desire to listen to the other person. 鈥淎nd to listen, my heart must first be filled with the conviction that the other person has something worth telling me.鈥�

Under threat from ideology and passions

杏MAP导航 Francis went on to consider two natural enemies to social friendship.

The first鈥攊deologies鈥攕eeks to take over everything and command loyalty. 鈥淚deologies succeed in disarming the concreteness of human nature,鈥� he noted.

Passions are the second great enemy to social friendship, which he called a 鈥渟team roller that carries on destroying instead of dialoguing.

鈥淧assions many times seek to eliminate the other person, prohibiting them from occupying their rightful place,鈥� he said.

The 杏MAP导航 admitted that there are 鈥減ockets of good social friendship in the world鈥�, but said that social enmity is much more prevalent.

Signs abound of social enmity

Besides war, he added, other signs of social enmity abound on certain margins of society.

These include children shut off from education, people who face hunger, those without healthcare services, people without potable running water, and those who cannot afford basic necessities.

杏MAP导航 Francis said these signs prove that social friendship does not exist in today鈥檚 world.

鈥淚f there is social friendship, then war and any sort of unfulfilled need should not exist, including a poorly-functioning education system,鈥� he said. 鈥淓verything must be full.鈥�

Pastoral care with feet on the ground

Finally, the 杏MAP导航 urged Church leaders in Argentina to throw themselves fully into the work of pastoral care.

鈥淒o not reflect in abstract terms,鈥� he concluded. 鈥淐arry out your reflections with your feet on the ground, based on concrete data.鈥�