Pope Francis and Haiti–Rejoice and be Glad--April 2018

 

EB 1527--Pope Francis and Haiti–Rejoice and be Glad--April 2018

Haitian Woman–July 4, 2016 (Photo by John Carroll)

Let me be clear–I view abortion as the most horrific crime imaginable. Having said that, Pope Francis released his second encyclical yesterday titled “Gaudete et Exsultate” (Latin for “Rejoice and be Glad”).

“Our defense of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life. … Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection,” Francis writes.

As we know, the world is a mess. Close to home, Haitians continue to try and escape Haiti on dangerous boats only to drown or be returned to Haiti. The Dominican Republic is forcibly returning people with Haitian blood back to Haiti where no one wants them. And Donald Trump wants to send Haitian families living and working in the United States back to Haiti as fast as he can.

Francis’s vision of holiness is expansive, touching on the actions of everyday people in situations from family life to politics. “It goes back to Genesis, which says all of us, all of creation, all men and women, are made in the image and likeness of God. What Pope Francis is trying to say is: Do we really believe that?” said the Rev. William Graf, chair of religious studies at St. John Fisher College in New York. “Do we see God present in the immigrant? (Washington Post—April 10, 2018)

The Catholic Diocese of Peoria needs to read Francis’s encyclical. Are our parish priests in Peoria talking about refugees, violence in Peoria, and Peoria’s tormented and seemingly doomed 61615 neighborhoods? Why did The Catholic Diocese of Peoria not stand up to OSF when OSF rejected their own Haitian Hearts patients and allowed them to die? Would Francis “rejoice and be glad” with the church in Peoria?

Francis concludes that “the great criterion … on which we will be judged” is found at the conclusion of the Beatitudes: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

According to Graf, Francis seems to be positioning this famous line of scripture, with its emphasis on personal care for the physical needs of suffering people, as “the ultimate judgment on whether or not we’re holy.”

 

John A. Carroll, MD

www.haitianhearts.org