Pope Francis Proclaims The Gospel After Describing Why Many Don't Hear It

Before proceeding with “Proclaiming the Gospel” in his apostolic exhortation, Pope Francis explains the current social, political, cultural and economic situations that prevent many people from being able to hear the Gospel of Jesus.  In Chapter Two of “The Joy of the Gospel,” the Holy Father explains that “certain factors can … weaken the missionary renewal in the Church” (paragraph 51).

While recognizing the great strides made in improving people’s lives in health care, education and communications, he acknowledges that, “the majority of our contemporaries are barely living from day to day, with dire consequences.  A number of diseases are spreading. The hearts of many people are gripped by fear and desperation, even in the so-called rich countries.  The joy of living frequently fades, lack of respect for others and violence are on the rise, and inequality is increasingly evident.  It is a struggle to live and often to live with precious little dignity” (paragraph 52).  Pope Francis insists that this produces an economic inequality that kills physically, emotionally and spiritually (paragraph 53).

He makes a statement well worthy of our reflection –  “How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?” (paragraph 53).  Have people become that heartless in our modern-day society?  

As a teenager, I read the book, “With God in Russia,” by Walter J. Ciszek S.J, a missionary priest imprisoned for 23 years in Russian prisons and labor camps.  He was released in 1963; upon his return to the U.S., walking through New York City, he was appalled at the food thrown out in the dumpsters behind restaurants, which could have fed thousands in the village he had served.  Pope Francis reiterates Fr. Ciszek’s reflections: “Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while people are starving?” (paragraph 53).  I know for a fact that I have often been invited out to homes where my hosts were going to discard the evening meal.  Without embarrassment, I asked if I could take it home to enjoy! We can be grossly wasteful people, while others go to bed hungry.

The Holy Father continues with his observations that, “Today everything comes under the laws of

… the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless….  Masses of people find 

themselves excluded and marginalized:  without work, without possibilities, without any means of 

escape.  Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded.  

We have created a ‘disposable’ culture which is spreading” (paragraph 53).  

Pope Francis criticizes the “trickle-down” theory of economic growth, which “has never been confirmed

by the facts” because it expresses a naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power who 

usually want to stuff their own bank accounts.  He writes that, “The culture of prosperity deadens us;

we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase; and in the meantime all those lives 

stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us” (paragraph 54).  

When India gained independence from Great Britain in 1948, Mahatma Gandhi gathered together all

the Catholic and Protestant missionaries.  He told them, “Before you preach God’s love to my people, 

show them God’s love by giving them food, clothing, medicine and shelter.  Otherwise, your message 

will ring hollow in their ears.”

The same can be said of our society and culture today.  Before people can hear the Gospel of Jesus, we 

must provide for their basic human needs, which also include their needs for being respected, 

welcomed and loved as human persons.