Perspectief 2017-36

Perspectief 16 Werk van jonge theologen daily with news items of drowning refugees, for example, leaves people with feelings of powerlessness. Francis proposed prayer as a starting point, stressing that “the power of so many voices united in prayer”, on Earth and in heaven, is not to be underestimated. He himself initiated the ’24 Hours for the Lord’, a full day of Eucharistic adoration and confession, for the purpose of countering indifference. Secondly, he encouraged charity. This can be done by supporting the Church’s refugee organisations or by finding ways to personally, physically extend a helping hand. Thirdly, such troubling news can serve as a reminder of the fragility of one’s own life and of one’s dependency on God and other people to change the world for the bette r. 36 3. Romano Guardini Pope Francis’ views on refugees, as well as those of his predecessors as laid out in Catholic social teaching, can be understood in light of Catholic theologian Romano Guardini’s work Der Dienst am Nächsten in Gefahr . Jorge Bergoglio once considered writing his dissertation on Guardini’s body of work 49 , and cited him multiple times in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ . Not surprisingly, this theologian’s influence on Bergoglio’s thought is readily discernible. Guardini states that charity to people in need finds its fullest depth in Christianity. The Christian message is that all people are created by God, and thus He can be encountered in every person. In chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus states that the very least of people, namely those who have nothing to offer to society whatsoever, are the people in which He appears. He himself becomes the ultimate motivation to extend aid to people in need. However, in the seventeenth century people in various socioeconomic classes became of the opinion that life could only be lived to the fullest on the basis of convictions different from the Christian ones. Some people drew from the principles of pagan antiquity, others from their everyday experience. 50 The result of this abandonment of the Christian faith as 49 Piqué, E. (2014) Pope Francis: Life and Revolution Chicago IL, Loyola Press, p. 308. 50 Guardini, R. (1956) De naastenliefde in gevaar [original German title: Der Dienst am Nächsten in Gefahr ] Lannoo, The Hague, p. 25.