En - Card. Rodríguez Maradiaga - Introductory Speech

8/11/2019 En - Card. Rodrguez Maradiaga - Introductory Speech

1/9

International Seminar on: The family: a resource for overcoming the crisis(Palazzo San Calisto, 18 Se tem!er "#1$%

The impact of the nancial, economic and social crisis onfamilies:

a world perspective

Car&' scar )n&r*s +o&r guez -ara&iaga

.ear frien&s,

/elcome to +ome, in the heart of Trastevere 0here Saint rancis staye& in 1"#2, over 8## years ago3

It is a goo& sign that the Saint of the 4a&y Poverty, an& our !elove& Po e 0ho !ears hname, have given us the o ortunity to meet here to&ay'

It is only a fe0 &ays !efore the Thir& 56traor&inary 7eneral )ssem!ly of the Syno& oisho s, 0hich has as its theme The Pastoral Challenges for the family in the conte6t o

evangelisation'This is a ro hetic event 9 the first, or !etter, the secon& ste along a ath'The first 0as ta en !y Po e rancis 0hen he &esire& to hear the voice of families an

communities !y means of e6tremely 0i&es rea& consultation 0ith local Churches' /ith our astoral reflections 0e, too, 0ish to artici ate in this e6change of i&eas an& ro;ects 0hima es us all feel art of the Church, a community on the ;ourney' )n& since 0e are all gathere

here together in the name of


2/9

The family can !e &iscusse& from many &ifferent ers ectives angles an& oints of vTo&ay 0e have ma&e a clear choice: 0e &o not 0ant to tal a!out the family in the a!stract, or othe erfect family, !ut of all those real families to&ay 0hich, each in its o0n 0ay, is struggling intruly &ifficult situations an& 0hich, nonetheless, still manages to ho e an& to lan for the futThese are the families that, together 0ith our 4or&, re resent our true ho e an& can hel overcome the crises of this thir& millennium'

amilies to&ay fin& themselves at the centre of enormous ara&o6es' 7lo!alisation hentere& their homes, their &aily lives' )s +enato +uggiero sai& in 122=, 0hen he 0as .irector7eneral of the /orl& Tra&e >rganisation, 0e 0a e u in the morning to the soun& of a , S eech at conference 5conomics: 0hat futureF, +ome, .ecem!er 122=, ' D'

"


3/9

The great &efect of the mar et economy is that it is e6clusive' )n& it is for this reasothat the great challenge facing us is calle& inclusion' The mar et economy is efficient insofarit is a!le to create 0ealth, an& e6clusive insofar as it is inca a!le of &istri!uting this eAua!ly'

The financial mar et, 0hich has gro0n out of all ro ortion over the last fe0 &eca&ehas create& a self9centre& o0er 0hich res on&s neither to ro&uction nor to the authority ointernational control, !ut only to itself'

>n /all Street, 0hen ne0s of goo& em loyment figures arrives, the stoc mar et crashes,the e6act o osite of 0hat ha ene& in the ast' Those investing in the stoc mar et arelonger intereste& in no0ing that a !usiness is in goo& health, since the im ortant things ara i& rofits an& s eculation, laying on the &ifferences !et0een international currencies' financial as ects of &ecisions ta e riority over economic an& human consi&erations' In this

many eo le, families, !usinesses an& even nations fin& that they are no longer the masterstheir o0n &estinies'

>ur Caritas organizations fin& themselves face& 0ith an a arent contra&iction' >fficestimates !y governments an& international economic organizations have, over the last fe&eca&es, registere& mar e& rates of economic gro0th in various countries of the 0oes ecially the so9calle& emerging economies'

In 4atin )merican an& the Cari!!ean, Caritas often have hear& tal of a anorama o ros erity, an increase in 7.P er erson, high e6 ort rates (roughly =9 B%, &es ite the gleconomic crisis' )t the same time, ho0ever, our hel centers an& emergency facilities have seethe long cues of the oor !ecome even longer, an& es ecially cues of entire families' amilisee ing initial, emergency assistance, !ut also 0or , accommo&ation, legal rights, the chance enter once again the active community an& to fully en;oy their rights as citizens'

The first Auestion that 0e, as Caritas, must as ourselves regar&ing the o timistic trenof economic in&icators is the follo0ing: &o these statistics reflect the real situation in 0hich tfamilies of 4atin )merica an& the Cari!!ean are livingF Is the eAual &istri!ution of theseconomic in&icators realF If it is true that certain factors are e6 eriencing gro0th (e6 orts, e6am le% to the oint that 0e can tal of emerging economies an& of a certain &ecreas overty, then it is also true, on the contrary, that overty continues to afflict roughly 1 G millio eo le, that is, a!out "8'8B of the inha!itants'"

" Cfr' Contri!ution !y the regional Caritas of 4atin )merica an& the Cari!!ean'

D


4/9

)lso in )frica, !efore the crisis, all of the re orts of the international financial institutions (/orl&an , International -onetary un&, )frican .evelo ment an % in&icate& a mar e& gro0th

some of the continentHs economies' Then the crisis struc , 0ith unfavora!le short9term ros elea&ing to colla se in the rice of ra0 materials an& of rofits from e6 orts (0hilst increasing costs of !asic necessities for the local o ulations%' )n& so )frican families, alrea&y on the vemargins of &evelo ment, sli& further an& further into overty an& recariousness')n anec&ote re orte& !y a ne0s a er in inshasa, in the .emocratic +e u!lic of the Congo,hel s us un&erstan& the &egree of &isillusion an& &issatisfaction of )frican families, 0 overty has not lessene& at all, Auite the o osite3D The ;ournalist comments that, &es ite sta!ilityon the macro9economic level, the Congolese eo le confuse& an& &isenchante&, is increaslosing any ho e of im roving their &aily lives' The in&ications are ositive: gro0th stan&

G'"B, international reserves are increasing, the rate of e6change if sta!le, !ut there is stillimmense recariousness' @ou canHt eat economic sta!ility3 e6claime& a state officommenting on a recent stri e !y mem!ers of the civil service an& in reaction to the cynicism the u&get -inister, accor&ing to 0hom, economic sta!ility ha& !enefitte& all of the Congole eo le3

In reality, the ma;ority of )frican families 9 !ut the situation is the same in many )siancountries an& else0here in the 0orl& 9 are force& to fight to survive an& concentrate all of tenergies on this struggle'

/e have not move& to0ar&s a more ;ust system, even though this is 0hat 0as suggeste& !y the mar eting of the single thought' 7lo!alization is highly selective' Suffice it to note theincreasing num!er of &es erate ;ourneys un&erta en !y refugees an& migrants that all too ofinish in the graveyar&s of the seas an& the lan&s that they attem t to cross'

In a system that has lace& the in&ivi&ual a!ove all other values, an& a financial sysan& mar et 0ithout rules, the real an& rofoun& nee&s of families are ignore& an& the net0orelations an& values that families al0ays have create& an& en;oye& ris s colla sing li e a hof car&s' Jo0ever, as note& in the reflections of Caritas Italiana, amiglie Sos ese (Sus en&

amilies%: if in Italy the rate of overty has remaine& sta!le for some time no0, not0ithstan&the 0orst economic crisis since 12"2, this is than s to the social arachute 0hich the Italian

D Cfr' K L Aui rofite la sta!ilit* &u ca&re macro*conomiAue F M inLe Potentiel ( # N#2N"#1"%'

$


5/9

family has al0ays re resente&, saving those 0ho have !een afflicte& !y the long 0ave ofrecession'$

ut 0hat is ha ening to&ayF or the first time ever, even in the comforta!le /est, notonly are the young utterly una!le to fin& a ermanent ;o!, !ut their arents are losing theirs anfamily life, sli&ing into crisis' This !ecomes recarious for t0o generations, those at "# as 0ell athose at =# years of age' 4ife is increasingly a !alancing act !et0een o&&9;o!s an&unem loyments, 0ith no fi6e& income an& 0ith the young inca a!le of lanning their futures'

The Caritas of the Enite& States has tol& us that, &es ite the myth of )merica as the laof o ortunity, many )merican families ris overty, es ecially those 0ith single mothers anyoung chil&ren, 0hose num!er has increase& !y over =#B in recent &eca&es' )ccor&ing to tPopulation Reference Bureau, "$B of the G= million chil&ren un&er 18 in the Enite&

States live in single9 arents families, 0ith their mothers an&, in "#1#, the rate of overamongst these families stoo& at $"'"B' The severe recession has ma&e 1 out of G )mericans oan& the rate of unem loyment has risen to over 2B' 5ven amongst those fortunate enough have a ;o!, D million fin& it har& to reach the en& of the month' Immigrant families are amonthe har&est hit'

The im act of overty is intensifie& an& ma es itself felt 0here crisis enters into the livof the 0oun&e& families, 0ith straine& relationshi s an& !rea 9u s an&, often, a re9sha

the nuclear family along &ifferent lines' In this case economic overty, social vulnera!ility, anemotional frailty create a s iral that ris s &estroying the family an& isolating eo le, es ecthe youngest, from the rest of the community' If a cou le is in &ifficulty, their entire system relationshi s can enter into a crisis as 0ell' The recarious nature of life an& values has ren&e eo leHs sentiments an& emotions of eo le more fragile an& ma es in&ivi&uals more es ecially the el&erly an& chil&ren' )s sho0n !y the contri!utions !y the Portuguese an& renCaritas, chil&ren are the first to suffer the effects of overty an& lac of affection'Caritas rance (Secours CatholiAue% remin&s us of ho0 much loneliness an& feelinghel lessness are en&ure& !y families living on the fringe, for one reason or another' amilies living in overty 9 0rites Caritas rance 9 feel isolate& ''' -any arents tell us that thehave no9one to tal to a art from their chil&ren''' To&ay, a recarious situation forces

$ Cr' Presentation !y .on rancesco So&&u, .irector of Caritas Italiana, inFamiglie sospese : quaderno diri essione teologico-pastorale sulla famiglia in di colt nell talia delle false parten!e ,

ologna, Centro e&itoriale &ehoniano, "#1$, ' ='

=


6/9

in&ivi&ual into a system of &e en&ency an& negative recognition'''0hich !rings 0ith it a sensuselessness an& of their 0orth not !eing recognize& in the eyes of others an& of society'=

?o0a&ays there is much tal of the Auality of life, !ut I &o not !elieve that the reseneconomic system or 0ay of thin ing is hel ing this' 4iving is not merely e6isting, !ut e6istingin

a certain "a# ' Oi tor ran l sai&: 4ife is not something, !ut the chance to &o something>nly an i&ea of the meaning of life, a life live& fully an& 0ith &ignity !y every one of us, no!oe6clu&e&, can give rise to ho e for the 0orl&'

Therefore, 0e cannot intervene only in relation to the negative effects of the curreneconomic system 0ithout see ing to alter their causes' The great challenge that 0e face to&alies in our 0illingness to change the &ominant 0ay of thin ing an& the institutions 0hic er etuate it' It lies in our a!ility, together 0ith families an& on the !asis of evangelical value

to recreate an economy an& society truly orientate& to0ar&s the common goo&')n& thus, 0e come to ourselves' /e Christians, families, ecclesial communities,

ourselves as the Church'ecause it is to us that the 4or& s ea 3

7ustavo 7uti*rrez as himself an& the Church this crucial Auestion:In the 0orl& of technological revolution an& com uters, of the glo!alization of the economof neo9li!eralism an& the so9calle& ost9mo&ern, is there s ace for those 0ho are oor

marginalize& an& 0ho see to free themselves from an inhuman con&ition that stam s out t&ignity as human !eings an& chil&ren of 7o&F /hat role &o the 7os els lay an& the faith of oor in a time that seems allergic to certainties an& to human soli&arityF'

)n& to&ay 0e may a&&:/hat &o the 7os els have to say to the families of to&ay, to those 0ho live in uncertainty

an& to those 0ho live comforta!ly, to those 0hose lives are 0oun&e& an& those 0ho lives arnot, an& 0hat &oes our 4or& say in articular to 0e 0ho try to live !y the light of his /or&F

/hat s ace is foun& in our Church for families 0oun&e& !y an economic system that e6clu&them, afflicte& !y 0ar an& violence, 0ea ene& !y the glo!alization of in&ifference or in;ur !y the frailty of their sentiments an& valuesF

= Contri!ution !y Secours CatholiAue (Caritas rancia%, ' "' 7' 7ETI5++5 , )nalisi critica &ella teologia &ella li!erazione inl Regno ?' 1# (122G% : ag' D#$'


7/9

The nstrumentum La$oris of the Syno& )ssem!ly notes that some o!servations (&ra0nfrom consultations 0ith the local churches, n'&'r'% &eman& strong an& ro hetic 0or&s froChurch in relation to overty 0hich is utting family life so harshly to the test' ) Church that is oor an& for the oor, it states, shoul& not fail to ma e its voice hear& in this conte6t'G

)fter all, the 7o& >f life, in !ecoming one of us, e6 erience& the life of a hum!le family, sim lemigrant, an& in real life family he learnt to 0or 0ith his han&s, to earn his &aily !rea& !y s0eat of his !ro0, to sho0 soli&arity an& to hel an& cure the 0oun&s of the eo le of his tim


8/9

faithful, an& 0hen necessary, of slo0ing &o0n to loo eo le in the eyes an& listen aaccom any those 0ho have !een left !y the roa&si&e'8

/e must not resign ourselves to saying itHs al0ays !een li e this !ut must see out ne0s aths,set off 0ith our affective creativity, heal the 0oun&s of so many faces an& so many stories an&enounce in;ustices')!ove all, 0e must learn to listen to the families 0ho are, first an& foremost, a great resourcean& source of ho e an& love for the Church' If families feel that they are !eing listene& to accom anie& !y the community, if they feel that they are su!;ects an& not merely users, o!;ecof our assistance, they 0ill no0 ho0 to e6 erience love an& evangelical ho e 0ith courage anal0ays have faith in man an& in his a!ility to create frien&shi an& soli&arity,2 as .on 7ino+igol&i 0rite in his !oo '

To&ay the most 0i&es rea& sentiment amongst families in &ifficulty is one of o0erlessnesthe face of an over!earing socio9economic reality 0hich often crushes them' or this reason, 0Christians cannot limit ourselves to treating their 0oun&s, !ut must have the evangelical couragan& civil commitment to change this reality, to free these 0oun&e& families from the o ress !earing &o0n on them, an& to &o this together 0ith them'The strong call launche& !y the Church s urs us to commit ourselves in the name of the 7os e/ith the evangelical message, the Church offers a force for free&om an& &evelo men recisely !ecause it can !ring conversion to hearts an& min&s, recognise the &ignity of ein&ivi&ual, rovi&e soli&arity an& &e&ication to the service of our fello0s, insert man into&esign, 0hich is the creation of the ing&om of eace an& ;ustice, starting in this life'1#

The greatest test for the family in our time is that of the solitu&e 0hich !oth isolates an&&estroys' >nly love, learnt, live& an& share& &ay after &ay, !et0een families an& the commu0ill result in no!o&y ever again feeling that she or he is alone''

8 Po e rancis,%&angelii 'audium , ?' $ '2 Cfr' .on 7ino +I7>4.I, Ricostruire la speran!a , 0ith Pierfili o Pozzi, 5&izioni 4aterza, "#1$'1# 7iovanni Paolo II, 4ettera 5nciclicaRedemptoris issio (G .ecem!er 122#%, ?' =2'

8


9/9

2

Documents

En - Card. Rodríguez Maradiaga - Introductory Speech