( Ironically, in this entry that touches on our relationship to technology, I've struggled enormously this evening in getting a uniform Font, to no avail. Apologies in advance for the weirdness of it)
I'm glad to contribute one last entry before our Summer roster of collaborators pitch in! This time, I'll explore the beginning of chapter 3, which marks a point of transition in this document. Francis spent much of the last chapter exploring the spiritual roots of our desire for communion with all creation. Through it, he reminded us that creation is not just created 'things', but creatures close to the divine, as the 'risen one is mysteriously holding them to himself and directing them towards fullness as their end". (100) In chapter 3, we switch gears, and enter a reflection on our sense of 'sinfulness' by exploring the human roots of our ecological crisis. Those of you familiar with the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises will pick up on the fact that the transition from chapter 2 to 3 is a strong Week one movement: You focus on the graces and strengths of your life so that you can be free enough (and therefore more ready) to face your own personal sin history and all the pain attached to it in the rest of the first week.Likewise, if chapter 2 made us feel pretty good about the numerous connections in our Religion to caring for creation, and to perceiving God at work in the mystery (and intense beauty) of all that lives, Chapter 3 will no doubt challenge that good mood by helping us reflect on the collective role humanity has played in bringing about this ecological mess in the first place.
Our Pope doesn't even try to build a nice literary bridge between the two movements/chapters. He goes from the end of Chapter 2's beautiful, mystical meditation on how creation is filled with the presence of Jesus, to a very pragmatic statement: " We can't describe the symptoms of the crisis we're facing without looking at the true cause of the illness: Human activity." ( My paraphrase of 101) While he would not be one to restrain himself from lumping all humanity as responsible for having neglected our Common Home, he mostly focuses his comment on the technocrats, those who use technology to exercise more control of the society they live in.
His emphasis on technocrats is not an attempt to criticize technology. Quite the contrary, he spends an entire paragraph lauding those advancements as an expression of the profound creativity with which we have been gifted by the divine. Instead, it's a criticism of those who misuse the advancements we've made in this area for the sake of their own quest for (political or financial) power and control. In fact the balance in this section between the celebration of creativity and the condemnation of those who strive for, and often end up abusing 'power.' is quite striking. Most striking to me was the way he almost celebrated the way humanity has tampered with nature. While most environmentalists will bemoan this tampering, Francis recognizes that it's been a part of our human story since the beginning, every time we were confronted by our own limitations, and answered these limitations with our ingenuity and creativity. He makes it clear that through science and technology, we've been able to reach new heights, and new standards of living (102) that are (in theory) destined for all. This line of thinking is what led him to utter a statement I thought I'd never hear this Pope say: "who can deny the beauty.... of a skyscraper' (103). Earlier on in this document, he's quite vocal in his protest against cities, and urban cultures in general that invest millions in building these structures, and creating pretty green spaces, but ignore -and invests nothing in- the hardship of the marginalized that dwell on its streets. However, no matter how much Francis is trying to see beauty in the Urban jungle, we know all too well where it is that he truly encounters God in his life...
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And perhaps it's in the name of the marginalized that in paragraphs 104-105, he changes the tone of his language as he introduces his 'on the other hand' segment (perhaps he sounds a little like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof in such moments, but that's part of his charm!!). As proud as we have to be of the technological changes that our world has witnessed even in the last 15 years, we can't turn a blind eye to the amount of power this technological revolution has placed in the hands of 'the Few'. He even goes further, not just speaking about their power, but also how they 'impressively dominate' over the whole of humanity and the entire world'. His use of the word impressive is intriguing, but only perhaps we'd expect him to use 'oppressive' domination instead...but perhaps the whole point is that, we already know that dominating others will be oppressive. He's asking us to observe the folly that governs our country and Western society, a folly that allows us to notice how much the few dominate, and to be 'ok with that'. He's asking us to take a step back, and observe how progress and power have become intertwined, and to wonder if there are more effective ways of exercising power that does not exclude those not part of progress.
In other words, it's not the fact that they have power that he's troubled by, but the fact they abuse and misuse it so egregiously, with such a disregard for those voiceless of our world. I know most leftist in the media would want to use such a sentiment and take it to mean that Pope Francis is attacking Wall Street again, which he may be (which he never seems shy to do!) but not this time. Yes the Technocrats are at fault, but the whole of human history is riddled not just with amazing story of our ability to overcome our limitations, but also with stories of greed, power and corruption that are still a huge part of our narrative.
His general verdict is that we have a long way to go before we humans use power in a more effective and life giving way that embraces the well being and care of all people and all creation. And that's me putting it nicely. He uses much more bleak language like " It is possible that we do not grasp the gravity of the challenges now before us. “ But again, I feel uses such language effectively, because he's able to pinpoint the problem clearly: We have all this progress, and no cultural,spiritual foundation for it. Getting all the power, and assuming none of the responsibilities towards others in the world leaves our leaders in a precarious vacuum from which there seems little hope of social, or ethical evolution. This beacon of hope that is our Pope is almost unrecognizable in this paragraph, but all he's doing is reminding us of the work that lies ahead. Nowhere does he say this work is going to be too much for us. If we've overcome other limitations, there is no reason why we couldn't overcome the ones we face today. We just have to be more intentional in our care for creation. If we care to see it, Hope still abounds!!
Have a blessed rest of the week!
Br. Dan
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