A reflection on the message of Pope Francis for the 54th World Day of Peace,
“A Culture of Care as a Path to Peace”
January 1, 2021
by T. Michael McNulty, SJ
As has become customary in Pope Francis’ communications, he begins with a reflection on the events of the last year, heeding the admonition of the Second Vatican Council to scrutinize the signs of the times. This leads him to articulate the idea of care, that will be the leitmotif of the message:
These and other events that marked humanity’s path this past year have taught us how important it is to care for one another and for creation in our efforts to build a more fraternal society.… A culture of care as a way to combat the culture of indifference, waste and confrontation so prevalent in our time. [1]
The concept of care is an important development and specification of the sentiment embodied in the notion of fraternity, which formed the core of the Pope’s most recent encyclical Fratelli Tutti. Care is much more personal and concrete than fraternity, and without the masculinist overtones the latter concept has in English. He takes his inspiration from the practice of the early Church:
The diakonia of the Church’s origins, enriched by the reflection of the Fathers and enlivened over the centuries by the active charity of many luminous witnesses to the faith, became the beating heart of the Church’s social doctrine. This doctrine is offered to all people of good will as a precious patrimony of principles, criteria and proposals that can serve as a “grammar” of care: commitment to promoting the dignity of each human person, solidarity with the poor and vulnerable, the pursuit of the common good and concern for protection of creation. [6]
Without care for one another and for our common home, conflict is inevitable and we fall prey to “nationalism, racism and xenophobia, and wars and conflicts that bring only death and destruction in their wake.” As Francis puts it, “We need to stop and ask ourselves what has led our world to see conflict as something normal, and how our hearts can be converted and our ways of thinking changed, in order to work for true peace in solidarity and fraternity.” [7]
Embracing a culture of care involves a commitment to conversion, to change of heart, to recognition of our common bonds with each other and the earth we inhabit:
The culture of care thus calls for a common, supportive and inclusive commitment to protecting and promoting the dignity and good of all, a willingness to show care and compassion, to work for reconciliation and healing, and to advance mutual respect and acceptance. As such, it represents a privileged path to peace. [9]
The concept of care characterizes in a particularly vivid way God’s relationship to creation. Jesus provides us with examples of care that are literally hands-on: he touches a leper to cure him [Mk. 1:40–45]; he takes Jairus’ daughter by the hand [Mk. 5:40]. Care implies the intimacy of touch — something our experience of a COVID-plagued world has severely limited.
Care provides us with an intimate and fruitful way of conceiving our relationships with one another and with the natural world. But it is a conception that implies action. As so often happens with the Pope’s reflections on the state of our world, we are not allowed the luxury of being bystanders.
