Perspectief 2017-36

2017-36 JT Chapter 1: Roman Catholic responses 15 Reageer “remove the part of Herod that lurks in our hearts”, a part which is revealed in people’s indifference to refugees. 45 Only through penance will the world be able to meet the globalisation of migration with a “globalisation of charity and cooperation” 46 that promotes human dignity 47 . In his 2015 Lenten message Francis offered a number of practical suggestions, on the level of the universal Church, of local parishes and communities, and of individual Christians, that ought to be pursued when people become tempted by indifference. On each of these three levels, the goal is for people’s hearts to be fashioned to the likeness of God’s: “Fac cor nostrum secundum cor tuum” (“Make our hearts like Yours” ). 36 The Church can help her members overcome their indifference by encouraging them to receive the sacraments, in particular the Eucharist. This is because the Eucharist is the body of Christ, and by feeding on it, “we become what we receive: the body of Christ ”. 36 And in Christ’s body, there is no room for indifference: “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it” 48 . Francis then proceeds to discuss parishes, emphasising that these are the places where charity is to be put into practice. This is done by praying with Christians on Earth and in heaven, thereby forming a community in which “indifference is conquered by love”, but also by looking at the needs of people locally. Charity on the parish level leads these local ecclesial communities to become “islands of mercy in the midst of the sea of indifference ”. 36 On the level of individual Christians, Francis claims that indifference has become a coping mechanism for people to deal with unsettling stories and images seen in the media. Faced 45 Pope Francis (2013) ‘Homilia’. 46 Pope Francis (2014) ‘Occasione Diei Mundialis Migrantis et Itinerantis’. 47 Pope Francis (2014) Message of Pope Francis to the archbishop of Agrigento on the occasion of the first anniversary of the visit to Lampedusa accessed September 10, 2016 at https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/messages/pont-messages/2014/documents/papa- francesco_20140623_messaggio-anniversario-visita-lampedusa.html. 48 1 Corinthians 12:26, NRSVCE.