Pope Francis is certain of this and is repeating it to everyone: we will emerge either better or worse after the pandemic The global crisis requires that the parameters of human co-existence be rethought through the lens of solidarity. Based on this foundational idea, the "Covid-19: Building a Healthier Future" has been created in collaboration with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, to offer a vision that might lead to the beginning of a new fraternity after the pandemic.
All experts who have their eyes trained on the social
effects of Covid – along with a heart attuned to the conditions of those who
are worse off – are well aware that a path out of this crisis will require
massive doses of “nearness”. Thomas Banchoff, vice-president of “Global
Engagement” at Georgetown University and one of the experts appointed by the
Pope to the Vatican Covid-19 Commission, focuses heavily on a “green
technological revolution”. “The time is over,” he says, “in which we could
allow ourselves to celebrate technological progress without paying attention to
its negative environmental impact.” Now, he continues, we need to develop
“sustainable and inclusive economics” and “make technology part of the
solution.”
You are part of the Vatican COVID 19 Commission, Pope
Francis’ response mechanism to an unprecedented virus. What do you personally
hope to learn from this experience? In what way do you think society as a whole
can be inspired by the work of the Commission?
R. – The Commission is a wonderful opportunity to
think with the Church about this unprecedented crisis and its implications for
the world. The Commission allows us to connect Catholic Social Teaching with
different disciplinary lenses on the pandemic and its farreaching impact on
public health, the economy, and world affairs. At a time of great suffering,
when so many are tempted to despair, the work of the Covid-19 Commission is a
source of hope.
Pope Francis asked the COVID 19 Commission to prepare
the future instead of prepare for it. What should be the role of the Catholic
Church as an institution in this endeavor?
R. – The pope has challenged us to imagine and pursue
a better future in the midst of this terrible crisis. As a global community
animated by faith, hope, and love, the Church is well positioned to articulate
and embody principles that can guide us as we seek to rebuild just, inclusive
and sustainable economies and societies. Several core principles of Catholic
Social Teaching are fundamental, including solidarity, the preferential option
for the poor, and the common good.
The world is divided into those who manufacture new
technologies and those who use them. Factory workers often labour in ethically
deplorable conditions: children, poor and exploited populations, people who
have no rights. Is there any hope for change?
R. – As Pope Francis has pointed out, deep social
inequality is one of the greatest evils facing the world today. At a time of
great material abundance and revolutionary breakthroughs in technology, most of
the world's population must struggle to make ends meet. Women, children,
refugees and migrants are among the most vulnerable. There is reason for hope,
however. Greater social inclusion through access to education, healthcare and a
just wage is a key to long term prosperity in countries around the world. The
moral imperative of addressing social inequality also has a strong economic
logic.
Is the race for the latest technology justified,
which, in addition to exploiting human beings, it also irreversibly pollutes
the planet?
R. – The time has passed when we can afford to
celebrate technological progress without attention to its negative
environmental impacts. The industrial and consumer technologies which have
driven unprecedented prosperity have also strained our ecological systems to
the breaking point, devouring natural resources, threatening biodiversity, and
promoting climate change. We need to make technology part of the solution. The
development of effective Green technologies and the shift toward sustainable
economies, while still in its early stages, will help us chart a path to a more
hopeful future.
Is it reasonable to envision sustainable technology
that respects the environment, and which is more widely accessible, even for
those who work to manufacture it?
R. – As Pope Francis powerfully argues in his
Encyclical Laudato Si', the ecological question and the social
question are deeply connected. The degradation of the environment and the
acceleration of climate change have a disproportionate negative impact on poor
communities. Looking forward, it will not be enough to produce sustainable
Green industrial and consumer technologies. We need to make those technologies
accessible to workers and citizens. The fruits of the Green technology
revolution must must be widely shared - in keeping with the principle of
solidarity and in view of the fact that economies that are both sustainable and
inclusive will have competitive advantages into the future.
The world is more and more connected. Could the right
to be connected digitally become a fundamental right? What are the
consequences?
R. – Today the exercise of basic human rights is
increasingly connected with access to digital communications technology.
Universal rights that flow from the dignity of the human person - including the
right to life, heath, education and employment and the freedom of religion, expression,
and association - have a strong social dimension. They cannot be exercised in
isolation. In an era when digital technology, including the Internet and mobile
communications, connect people and empower citizens as social actors, wider access
to those technologies is an ethical and policy imperative. Without it, the
scourge of deep social inequality - already a pressing global problem - will
become an even greater challenge.
Rethinking technological progress to make it more
equitable, evenly-distributed and accessible does not entail overturning the
entire economic system. With the shock of the current crisis fresh in our
minds, would now be a good time to carry out this reflection?
R. – The pandemic has revealed the extent of social
inequality in our world; poor and marginalized communities have suffered the
greatest losses in health and economic terms. As we look to the future, our
watchword should be not recovery but transformation. We should deploy the most
advanced technologies and best policy know-how to build public health and
economic institutions that are not only resilient but also inclusive. A
top-down, government-driven approach will not achieve the goal. Policy
frameworks that encourage market competition, technological innovation and
social inclusion are our best option.
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