“You shake our conscience from slumber.”
This is how President Barack Obama characterizes Pope Francis, and I find it to be right on point. Pope Francis takes no detours and doesn’t try to lull you into a state of complacency — he’s just going to straight-up tell you how it is.
An international community seems to be the main idea of Pope Francis’ message. A community, as Obama put it in his welcoming speech, “to protect the vulnerable in our world and to stimulate integral and inclusive models of development.” And what better way to do this than remind us that this is a country that was built by immigrants?
“I am deeply grateful for your welcome in the name of all Americans. As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families,” he said at the White House on Wednesday.
Pope Francis sees the effects of global warming as the greatest and most present threat to humanity and that the steps needed to change our perception of the problem are massive. What we need is a change in our worldview, one that is inclusive and considerate on a global scale.
“Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation,” he said. “When it comes to the care of our common home, we are living at a critical moment of history.”
The idea ties nicely to the idea of what it means to be Catholic. Though the center of the religion is considered to be the Vatican, it’s a massive religion spread all over the world. Yet however divided Catholics may be as individuals, we all are living in a “common home” and should feel compelled to take care of that house. Pope Francis seeks to unite Catholic society as a world community, one that has the power to benefit the world.
Pope Francis also makes a plea that this is not simply an obligation to our future children, “but also to the millions of people living under a system which has overlooked them.” Some are unsure what Pope Francis means in linking climate change to poverty. I believe Pope Francis is, again, seeking a change in our worldview. He’s making a plea to change our perception of pity, of charity and of responsibility. It’s a change in our idea of who we call our neighbor. Not to consider your local ties as your neighbors, but bordering countries as our neighbors. This is what Pope Francis means by a global community.
Pope Francis’ overall message holds true to Obama’s words. The saying means more than a simple plea for a more compassionate society. It means that the Pope seeks to wake us from a “dogmatic slumber,” to help reveal and rectify our deeply held beliefs.