12 March. SEE. Promoting the common good. Stephen added, “It is difficult to legislate for the common good and things like ecological conversion. It has been very interesting to see how much money and energy went into fighting the Covid virus. At that time climate change more or less disappeared off the public agenda even though it is even more urgent and serious in the long term.  Because of the dramatic impacts apparent constantly today, as well as the lobbying of climate activists it is fortunately coming up again, but much more needs to be done from a legal perspective too. 

Activists and the popes have spoken about ecology as part of Catholic Social Teaching but it has not become a true mainstream issue in the Church. How many people have measured their carbon footprint?  The common good is a humanitarian or human good that cannot be enforced but should be promoted. Pope Francis’s Laudato Si on creation and Fratelli Tutti, on social friendship go beyond addressing Catholic believers but call on all people “of goodwill.”  We humans are the only element of creation with the power to make decisions. We cannot expect the animal kingdom or the plant kingdom to do that. 

JUDGE, reflect and share. :Scripture: You shall call to them but they will not answer you. And you shall say to them, “This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord, their God, and did not accept discipline, truth has perished, it is cut off from their lips. Jer. 7:23-28  

Pope Francis:   A journey of peace is possible between religions. Its point of departure must be God’s way of seeing things. God’s love is the same for everyone, regardless of religion. We believers need to find occasions to speak with one another and to act together for the common good and the poor. This has nothing to do with watering down our deepest convictions. FT 281-2.  There is an episode in the life of St Francis that shows his openness of heart, which knew no bounds of differences of origin, nationality, colour or religion. His visit to the Sultan in Damietta in Egypt on a mission of friendship or fraternity entailed hardships, given his poverty, the distance, language, and culture. That journey undertaken at the time of the Crusades, demonstrated the breadth and grandeur of his love which sought to embrace everyone.  FT3.   Pope Leo:  the Gospel message has to do not only with an individual’s personal relationship with the Lord, but also with something greater: “the Kingdom of God (cf. Lk 4:43); it is about loving God who reigns in our world. To the extent that he reigns within us, the life of society will be a setting for universal fraternity, justice, peace and dignity. Both Christian preaching and our lives then, are meant to have an impact on society. We are seeking God’s Kingdom.”   DT 97

Reflect, share, act, pray. When considering the Laudato Si goals what aspect of the common good is important to us as a family?  Are we Listening? Is it the poor, the earth, economics, human rights as family rights?   Where does love feature in working for the common good?