Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, Bishop Emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and head of the Doctrine of the Faith at the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), offers Exaudi readers his weekly article.

FACTS

Mr. Donald Trump, the current President of the United States of America, with all the economic and military power his country possesses, imagines he can do and undo whatever he wants, both inside and outside his country. He has his obsessions and seeks to impose his will on everyone, without regard for individuals. He wants to manage the global economy, thinking only of his personal and national interests. He disrespects the autonomy of some countries and imagines he can change the course of history just because he so decides. He doesn’t care about the many migrants who are good people and contribute to the progress of their country, simply because they don’t have the necessary legal documents. So much power blinds his mind and heart!

Mr. Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, with the good intention of defending his country from Hamas terrorist attacks and rescuing its hostages, ignores the many deaths and malnutrition caused by his military actions in the Gaza Strip. He intends to invade Palestinian territories and would like Palestine to disappear as a free and independent country, in order to annex its territory to Israeli rule. His military power blinds him to the harm he is causing to the Palestinians, as if they were all terrorists!

The same thing happens in other countries and in other environments. Our federal authorities fail to see that 87% of Mexicans disapproved of the last election of judges and magistrates; they only highlight the 13% who supported them, many of whom benefited from their social programs. Their absolute power blinds them! They don’t see the mistakes and corruption of their own coreligionists. The previous president failed to recognize the seriousness of organized crime, which some described as authorized.

The various criminal groups try to impose their territorial dominance to obtain more money, to traffic more drugs, to extort more people. They don’t see beyond this; they don’t grasp the injustices they commit; they don’t mind risking their own lives to achieve their goals, to feel powerful and masters, even in politics. The current federal authorities are doing everything possible to put an end to these groups, but their blind obsession with power and money seems to make it impossible to get out of this rut ​​we’ve fallen into. And something similar happens in families, neighborhoods, towns, cities, and even in churches: those who hold a position or have the most financial resources consider themselves the only ones who know and can do whatever they see fit, without considering other opinions and other rights.

LIGHTNING

Pope Francis, in his exhortation  Evangelii gaudium,  says:

“One of the causes of this situation lies in the relationship we have established with money, since we peacefully accept its dominance over us and our societies. We have created new idols. The worship of the ancient golden calf has found a new and ruthless version in the fetishism of money and in the dictatorship of the economy, faceless and without a truly human purpose” (EG 55).

“A new, invisible, and sometimes virtual, tyranny is being established, imposing its laws and rules unilaterally and implacably. The desire for power and possessions knows no bounds”  (EG 56).

“Behind this attitude lies the rejection of ethics and the rejection of God. Ethics is often regarded with a certain mocking disdain. It is considered counterproductive, too human, because it relativizes money and power. It is perceived as a threat, because it condemns manipulation and the degradation of the person. Ultimately, ethics leads to a God who expects a committed response that is outside the categories of the market. For these, if absolutized, God is uncontrollable, unmanageable, even dangerous, for he calls human beings to their full realization and independence from any kind of slavery. Ethics—an ethics that is not ideologized—makes it possible to create a more humane social balance and order. In this regard, I encourage financial experts and the leaders of countries to consider the words of Saint John Chrysostom: “To fail to share one’s possessions with the poor is to rob them and take their lives. Our possessions are not ours, but theirs” (EG 57).

ACTIONS

Let us not be slaves to money and power. Our lives acquire full and satisfying meaning if we put our position or the resources we have at the service of others: our family, our community, our country, and the world.