Let Us Dream: A roadmap for humanity from the heart of Pope Francis
July 17, 2022
Through Let Us Dream, Pope Francis explores what this COVID-19 crisis can teach us about how to handle upheaval of any kind in our own lives and the world at large. Composed through a series of conversations with Austen Ivereigh, Pope Francis walks us through moments of upheaval in his own life. He calls these his personal “COVIDs” – situations that challenged his faith and his way of seeing the world.
In this context, Pope Francis examines the COVID-19 pandemic: how has this experience revealed the fragilities of humanity and how can we use this moment as an opportunity to correct our course? Much of the book is focused on how our unhealthy lifestyles have produced the current crisis: a global economy obsessed with profit, a collective negligence to prioritize people and the environment and a values system that focuses on the ego at the expense of caring for others.
He ties the present situation to critical moments in the Bible and other religious texts. One takeaway is clear: for as sophisticated as we are today, the answers to our problems are eternal, and have been before us all along. The common theme is a loss of our relationship with God and universal fraternity.
But the heart of Pope Francis is full of hope. How can we reverse the damage that has been done? He offers several suggestions, drawing on religious texts as well as the research of scientists, economists, activists and philosophers. Below the key lessons that I have retained.
The economy must put people before profit
Pope Francis put to words so much of what I have observed over the last 15 years as a lawyer working in finance and energy: our view of “growth” is too one-dimensional and focused on short-term financial returns.
This is not something that is inherent to our economy but rather a consequence of how certain destructive practices have been allowed to flourish: “[A] neoliberal economy ends up with no real objective other than growth. Yet market forces cannot on their own deliver the goal we now need: to regenerate the natural world by living more sustainably and more soberly while meeting the needs of those who have been harmed by or excluded from that economy until now.” Were the true cost of social and environmental degradation actually reflected in companies’ balance sheets and income statements, the financial valuation of many companies would look dramatically different.
Equally, our current economy focuses too much on synthetic value as opposed to real value. “Collateral banking systems, offshore sites providing fiscal havens for corporate tax avoidance, extracting value from companies to boost the earnings of shareholders at the expense of stakeholders, the smoke-and-mirrors world of derivatives and credit default swaps-all these suck capital from the real economy and undermine a healthy market, creating historically unprecedented levels of inequality.” What would happen if we invested the money currently held in derivative products in reforestation, regenerative agriculture and food systems?
Pope Francis skillfully illustrates the case for a social and solidarity economy that puts people and the planet above profit. “For me it's clear: we must redesign the economy so that it can offer every person access to a dignified existence while protecting and regenerating the natural world.” Development goals, and human progress more broadly, will only be achieved by investing in people, nature, culture and all that is living.
Humanity must reorient its values system
Pope Francis discusses the fallacy of making individualism the organizing principle of society: “The health of a society can be judged by its periphery. A periphery that is abandoned, sidelined, despised, and neglected shows an unstable, unhealthy society that cannot long survive without major reforms.”
He encourages us to decide on a new organizing principle: “We need a movement of people who know we need each other, who have a sense of responsibility to others and to the world. We need to proclaim that being kind, having faith, and working for the common good are great life goals that need courage and vigor; while glib superficiality and the mockery of ethics have done us no good.”
One word he uses in this respect is “fraternity.” This is a topic that I have blogged about in the past: a fundamental principle for many Western democracies, but perhaps one that has become less visible in our political system, which increasingly focuses on rights and liberties of the individual. What does modern fraternity look like?
In my view, it’s first noticing, paying attention, caring, taking the time to stop and help. It starts with our inner circle, but doesn’t stop there. Pope Francis discusses how the concept of “nation” has limited humanity from seeing itself as “one.” We must recognize, care and attend to all people, not simply those who share a common heritage, religion or belief. Fraternity doesn’t mean solving every other person’s problem perfectly, but it means asking ourselves, can I help? Even in one small way? Can I give something: a coin, a smile? If not, can I, in some way, be present for this person who may be suffering?
To love each other is to love God
For Pope Francis, prayer and care go hand in hand. Through prayer, we show our gratitude to God and to all those who have sacrificed. “If someone who loves you gives you a beautiful and valuable gift, how do you handle it? To treat it with contempt is to treat the giver with contempt. If you value it, you admire it, look after it; you do not disdain it; you respect it and are grateful. The damage to our planet stems from the loss of this awareness of gratitude.”
Prayer may not come intuitively, and we may have lost the reflex to pray frequently or at all. This has certainly been true in my own life, when at times prayer felt difficult in some way. In Let Us Dream, I have learned that prayer is a way for us to show the intentions of our heart and our openness to listen to God and the world around us.
And prayer is only the beginning. Pope Francis encourages us to not only pray but to live our faith through service. He reminds us that Christians’ first duty is to serve others, especially the poor and the marginalized, just as Jesus did.
Building on the Jesuit tradition, he encourages us to pray, and calls us to take action. “We are born, beloved creatures of our Creator, God of love, into a world that has lived long before us. We belong to God and to one another, and we are part of creation. And from this understanding, grasped by the heart, must flow our love for each other, a love not earned or bought because all we are and have is unearned gift.”
Be present, give of oneself and take steps, however small, each day to build a world that works for people, nature and all that is alive. To love each other is to love God.
CPM
