By Jorge José Armas, Generación Francisco – for schoenstatt.org •
The attendance of the State Secretary of the Holy See, Pietro Parolin, at the 7th Summit of the Americas was one of the most significant events of the hemisphere’s politics in recent times.
Not only did he attend but he was also the first speaker immediately after the inaugural speeches, where he read the message by Pope Francis to the presidents of the continent.
Francis, in his message, made a strong call “to generate a new order of peace and justice and to promote solidarity and cooperation while respecting the just autonomy of each nation.”
He also spoke out strongly against the neoliberalism that is bolstered by strong power factors that seek to once again take hold of governments, both in the US and various Latin American countries:
We cannot deny that many countries have experienced strong economic development in recent years, however it is likewise true that others remain prostrate in poverty. Moreover, in emerging economies, much of the population has not benefited from the general economic advancement, frequently to the point that there is a greater gap between the rich and the poor. The “trickle-down” theory has proven to be wrong: it is not enough for the poor to gather the crumbs that fall from the table of the rich. The need for direct action in favour of the most disadvantaged, attention to those such as the youngest members of a family, must be a priority for those who govern. The Church has always defended the advancement of individuals, taking care of their needs and offering them the opportunity to develop.”
But, undoubtedly the highly significant element of the Summit was that Francis was objectively present in his “own right” at the table representing the institutional powers of the Americas.
The official voice of the Catholic Church and its doctrine seek to be form an active part of the future of the hemisphere’s reality.
This has not happened for many centuries.
Even though Castro and Obama each thanked Pope Francis for his personal intervention at the start of a new era between the USA and Cuba, the Church’s trajectory to rebuild its presence on the continent has a long history that started during the Council, and was firmly continued in St. John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation “The Church in America,” a document that formed part of what in its time was known as the “geopolitics of faith.”
The appointment of the Latin American Pontiff only accelerated this presence.
The Catholic Church is quickly emerging as a central factor in this “change of era” throughout the world, but particularly in the Americas.
Francis’ visit to the United States in September will undoubtedly be a good opportunity for him to continue preaching what has been described as the “geopolitics of mercy.”
The United States Capitol, the United Nations and the White House are good environments to present the full concern of the Catholic Church for the poor in their great numbers showing that “this civilisation has gone beyond its limits,” its damage among the planet’s children, the lack of possible projects for youth, the increase in the scourge of drugs and corruption, the production of massive amounts of “social dissolution,” the fight against the cultural uniqueness of nations and an increase of the most diverse existential peripheries, all of which are products of a globalised market that was predicted to create a New Global Order.
Message of Pope Francis to the 7th Summit of the Americas
