At World Youth Day, the Pope spoke about consumerism and how society is shaped.
Pope Benedict XVI also said faith was a defining characteristic of both strong individuals and strong societies.
"Do not be fooled by those who see you as just another consumer in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth," he told the pilgrims.
He said the pilgrims should not be convinced by arguments that a society without religion would be neutral, impartial and inclusive of everyone.
"If God is irrelevant to public life, then society will be shaped in a godless image, and debate and policy concerning the public good will be driven more by consequences than by principles grounded in truth," he said. via news.com.au
These words remind me of documentaries I've seen lately about children living with violence in urban areas, such as Camden and the south Bronx. When I lived in Detroit, gun shots rang out every night within blocks. It wasn't the exception, but the rule. And it was a neighborhood with residences, not a business area. I would walk over to the law school about a mile and a half away and the scenery changed. The university was set apart, far enough so no one could hear the gun shots. Just far enough away.
It seems over the years we as a society have found better ways to distance ourselves from social problems. And rampant consumerism fuels it.
Our kids sit and play Grand Theft Auto. Some children are privileged enough to sit at a screen and make a game out of shooting people when others try to sleep shutting out the sound of real gunfire. That is the state of our society.
The Pope's words urge us to start asking questions about all of this as Christians.
Why have we turned social problems into entertainment? What kind of distance from solutions does that cause for the next generation? Does it normalize the existence of violence and poverty in urban areas? Have we considered the concept of stewardship regarding monies we pay toward products that glorify violence rather than putting it toward solutions?
Do we really believe that some of us are better than others?
2 comments:
Excellent point. I worked for years teaching in inner city high schools like those you described. The teens in these areas have no hope for a better future. They have no traditional family to nurture them, little or no Christian faith to believe in an eternal reward, and no one to teach them moral behavior. They accept and even embrace the culture of crime as their only reality. What frightens me is when so called middle class kids, mostly from broken homes glorify crime and bad RAP music.
These children need the hope of the Gospel and the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are doing just that, starting in the South Bronx and moving to other inner city areas of darkness.
The work being done by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal is an enormous source of hope. Thanks for your comments!
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