Pope Francis to Academy for Life "The search for the common good and justice are central and essential aspects of any defense of every human life..."
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE MEETING
“COMMON GOOD: THEORY AND PRACTICE”
[Sala Pio XI – Palazzo San Calisto, 14 November 2024]
__________________________________________
I am very pleased to extend my cordial greeting to all the participants in the meeting “Common Good: Theory and Practice”, organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life.
Among the many reflections on the theme of the common good, the meeting is particularly significant for at least two reasons.
The first is that it is promoted by the Pontifical Academy for Life. If we truly want to safeguard human life in every context and situation, we cannot ignore placing the themes of life, even the most classic ones of the bioethical debate, in the social and cultural context in which these phenomena occur. A defense of life that is limited to only some aspects or moments and that does not take into account in an integral way all the existential, social and cultural dimensions, risks being ineffective and can fall into the temptation of an ideological approach, where abstract principles are defended more than concrete people. The search for the common good and justice are central and essential aspects of any defense of every human life, especially the most fragile and defenseless, with respect for the entire ecosystem we inhabit.
The second reason I would like to emphasize is that two women with different responsibilities and backgrounds will be present at this event. We need, in society as in the Church, to listen to female voices; we need different knowledge to cooperate in the development of a broad and wise reflection on the future of humanity; we need all the world's cultures to truly be able to offer their contribution and express needs and resources. Only in this way can we "think and generate an open world", as I hoped in Chapter Three of my Encyclical Fratelli tutti.
With reference to this Encyclical, I would like to emphasize that universal fraternity is, in some way, a “personal”, warm way of understanding the common good. Not simply an idea, a political and social project, but rather a communion of faces, stories, people. The common good is first and foremost a practice, made up of fraternal acceptance and a common search for truth and justice. In our world marked by so many conflicts and oppositions that are the result of the inability to look beyond particular interests, it is of great importance to recall the common good, one of the cornerstones of the social doctrine of the Church. We need solid economic theories that assume and develop this theme in its specificity, so that it can become a principle that effectively inspires political choices (as I indicated in my Encyclical Laudato Si’) and not just a category so invoked in words as ignored in deeds.
I heartily bless you all, asking, please, to pray for me.
Vatican City, November 12, 2024
FRANCIS
TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE MEETING
“COMMON GOOD: THEORY AND PRACTICE”
[Sala Pio XI – Palazzo San Calisto, 14 November 2024]
__________________________________________
I am very pleased to extend my cordial greeting to all the participants in the meeting “Common Good: Theory and Practice”, organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life.
Among the many reflections on the theme of the common good, the meeting is particularly significant for at least two reasons.
The first is that it is promoted by the Pontifical Academy for Life. If we truly want to safeguard human life in every context and situation, we cannot ignore placing the themes of life, even the most classic ones of the bioethical debate, in the social and cultural context in which these phenomena occur. A defense of life that is limited to only some aspects or moments and that does not take into account in an integral way all the existential, social and cultural dimensions, risks being ineffective and can fall into the temptation of an ideological approach, where abstract principles are defended more than concrete people. The search for the common good and justice are central and essential aspects of any defense of every human life, especially the most fragile and defenseless, with respect for the entire ecosystem we inhabit.
The second reason I would like to emphasize is that two women with different responsibilities and backgrounds will be present at this event. We need, in society as in the Church, to listen to female voices; we need different knowledge to cooperate in the development of a broad and wise reflection on the future of humanity; we need all the world's cultures to truly be able to offer their contribution and express needs and resources. Only in this way can we "think and generate an open world", as I hoped in Chapter Three of my Encyclical Fratelli tutti.
With reference to this Encyclical, I would like to emphasize that universal fraternity is, in some way, a “personal”, warm way of understanding the common good. Not simply an idea, a political and social project, but rather a communion of faces, stories, people. The common good is first and foremost a practice, made up of fraternal acceptance and a common search for truth and justice. In our world marked by so many conflicts and oppositions that are the result of the inability to look beyond particular interests, it is of great importance to recall the common good, one of the cornerstones of the social doctrine of the Church. We need solid economic theories that assume and develop this theme in its specificity, so that it can become a principle that effectively inspires political choices (as I indicated in my Encyclical Laudato Si’) and not just a category so invoked in words as ignored in deeds.
I heartily bless you all, asking, please, to pray for me.
Vatican City, November 12, 2024
FRANCIS
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