Pope Francis Defines 'the Most Vulnerable'
Jesus’ care for the “little ones” (Matthew 25:40) – sinners, outcasts, and marginalized – “reminds us Christians that we are called to care for the vulnerable of the earth” (Evangelii Gaudium 209). Pope Francis identifies some of those who are the most vulnerable in society today. “I think of the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned, and many others. Migrants present a particular challenge for me, since I am the pastor of a Church without frontiers, a Church which considers herself to be a mother to all. For this reason, I exhort all countries to a generous openness….” (E.G. 210).
The political hype would have us believe that migrants take away jobs from Americans. Let’s be honest! Who wants to pick vegetables all day in the hot sun for minimum wages? Fear mongering does nothing to address the real question of why migrants must flee their homes for better lives here.
Pope Francis continues with his list of the most vulnerable among us: “… victims of various kinds of human trafficking … How I wish that all of us would hear God’s cry: ‘Where is your brother?’ (Genesis 4:9). Where is your brother or sister who is enslaved? Where is the brother and sister whom you are killing each day in clandestine warehouses, in rings of prostitution, in children used for begging, in exploiting undocumented labor. Let us not look the other way. That is greater complicity than we think. The issue involves everyone! … many people have blood on their hands as a result of their comfortable and silent complicity” (E.G. 211).
“Doubly poor are those women who endure situations of exclusion, mistreatment and violence, since they are frequently less able to defend their rights” (E.G. 212). Violence against women in American society? Women who are as qualified as their male counterparts receive a lower salary. Adult pornography is a violence against women who are used as “objects” of pleasure and not recognized for their dignity as women.
Pope Francis reminds us that, “Among the vulnerable whom the Church wishes to care (for) with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us. Nowadays efforts are made to deny them their dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this … this defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and every other human right. It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development… Once this conviction disappears, so do solid and lasting foundations for the defense of human rights” (E.G. 213). The defense of the unborn is not a matter of faith because “reason alone is sufficient to recognize the inviolable value of each single human life…” (E.G. 213).
Not protecting the lives of the unborn leads a society to a lack of respect for people already living. We experience this in our American society through the increase in crime. Why should we respect the lives of others if we do not respect the lives of the most vulnerable? The Pope chastises the Church because “we have done little to adequately accompany women in very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution to their profound anguish, especially when the life developing within them is the result of rape of situation or extreme poverty. Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?” (E.G. 214). Our parishes need to ask what we are doing to help women facing such painful decisions.
