Unless you have been totally disconnected from all sorts of news agencies I have no doubt that, within hours from the Barcelona and Finland horrific attacks, you would have heard about them. Most people active on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram came to know of the vile attacks through their favourite social network platform. Many use wisely and effectively such social platforms to reach the widest audiences possible.
This brings me to the subject I wish to delve into briefly.
The local Church authorities should not have cold feet to use such social networks regularly to inform the general public with their views on various issues which directly or indirectly affect the community. On the occasion of the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Mary, Mgr. Mario Grech Bishop of Gozo issued a pastoral letter titled ‘For Hope to Blossom’. It makes very interesting reading. It is a narrative about our society, and the diverse challenges it is facing. In my opinion, along with others, Mgr. Grech qualifies as one of the leading protagonists of our times. Here, I take the liberty to pick some salient points from Mgr. Grech’s pastoral letter which intrigued me.
Hope and discouragement: This is the opening paragraph and the most striking sentence penned by Mgr. Grech is the following, ‘Today, instead of fearing death, man is afraid to live, so much so that occasionally one regrets the dawn of a new day!’ One may have divergent views on this reflection, but coming from Mgr. Grech, this should raise eyebrows. The lay competent authorities should strive to find out what prompted Mgr. Grech to make such a strong opening statement.
Lack of hope in our Christian life: ‘Even within the Christian community, there are those who give up hope. Some are deluded because they have not seen the hopes raised in the Church by the Second Vatican Council sixty years ago’. Here, Mgr. Grech did not fail to recognise that the Church authorities may have deluded the Christian community because they were reluctant to make the necessary changes. Why this has happened is up to the competent Church authorities to give the answers; but perhaps more importantly is for the Church authorities to avoid a repetition of past mistakes.
Everyone has a right to hope: ‘The advances of technology, the sciences, the economy and the politics are great achievements, and we have to be grateful for the hopes that these enkindle in many people. It is a pity that not all people can benefit from the advances that mankind makes with these tools, because there are those who end up being abused in trying to benefit from their fruit, as in the case of health or when they need professional services!’ Rightly, here Mgr. Grech did not stop short from sounding the alarm bells. The lay competent authorities should not allow a two tier society to manifest in our society, and should take all measures to provide adequate and professional services to one and all, irrespective of their earnings, particularly in the health sector.
Our hope in God: The fourth paragraph begins with: ‘As Saint Augustine confesses, the human heart finds rest only in God’. Later on in the same paragraph, Mgr. Grech expands on the matter: ‘Therefore it is a scandal when we Christians see everything through dark glasses’. Indeed, not all should be painted black. After all, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. But nonetheless, the competent authorities should be held accountable for their actions at all times.
Discernment: ‘Hoping does not mean waiting passively for things to solve themselves. Hope is the fruit of wise discernment that one makes to find the way. By the word “crisis” we do not mean only something that we need to overcome; it also indicates a need to investigate, to sift and judge’. These are undeniably wise words from Mgr. Grech. Although the onus of overcoming the challenges and problems that come to pass from time to time rests with everyone, I encourage the Church authorities to make public their views on issues of national importance.
False hopes: ‘I feel that it is pertinent to contemplate the speech Pope Francis made to the leaders of member states of the European Union, in which he indicated certain venues that could re-establish Europe as a “spring of hope”. Society would re-discover hope: (1) when the human person is the centre and heart of its institutions; (2) when solidarity is strengthened and brings with it the recognition that we are all part of one body, while every citizen sympathises with others and in everything; (3) when it does not close itself in the fear of false certainties; (4) when it invests in development and in peace; (5) when it opens up to youth, offers them serious perspectives of education, and possibilities of insertion in the world of work; (6) when it invests in the family; (7) when it respects the conscience and the ideals of its citizens; and (8) when it defends life in all its sacredness and debars abortion and euthanasia’. I consider this paragraph of paramount importance, irrespective of the religion one may embrace.
The Assumption: a Symbol of Hope: As expected Mgr. Grech, a man of God, concluded his pastoral letter with an appeal and a short prayer: ‘May God of hope fill all of you with joy and peace through your faith, so that your hope will increase through the power of the Holy Spirit’.
On my part I like the religion that teaches and practices liberty, equality and fraternity.
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