April 12.   As world citizens everyone is involved in this debate. “Is a national interest necessarily in accordance with God’s plan, or can it be against Jesus and his vision for God’s kingdom?”  “I believe in the prior value of the common good applied more widely than just in one country.  President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” is really very selfish.” “But does he have the right to do that?”  “We in SA can be criticised for a policy like BEE if we really consider the common good.”  “Is stopping another country’s wars expected of us, as that involves migrants?”  “And what about a call to debt cancellation?”  And so the debate has to continue.          .

Reflect, share and act. Scripture:  Caiaphas said, “If we let him go on like this everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.  You do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation should not perish.  John 11:45-57.  Pope Francis:   JUBILEE.  Another heartfelt appeal that I make in light of the Jubilee is directed to the more affluent nations. I ask that they acknowledge the gravity of so many of their past decisions and determine to forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them. More than a question of generosity, this is a matter of justice. It is made all the more serious today by a new form of injustice which we increasingly recognize, namely, that “a true ‘ecological debt’ exists, particularly between the global North and South, connected to commercial imbalances with effects on the environment and the disproportionate use of natural resources by certain countries over long periods of time”. As sacred Scripture teaches, the earth is the Lord’s and all of us dwell in it as “aliens and tenants” ( Lev 25:23). If we really wish to prepare a path to peace in our world, let us commit ourselves to remedying the remote causes of injustice, settling unjust and unpayable debts, and feeding the hungry.  SNC 16.  Choose an act of love and sacrifice from the list, also published at www.marfam.org.za