Post-pandemic solidarity

In the trunk of memories of some enlightened elites slumbers a legend that pits the Church against science and progress. The contrast with this elusive myth - which stubbornly evades eradication, especially among the inattentive or the hypersecure - was noticeable in Benedict XVI's calls to "expand the reason" and to introduce scientific-instrumental logic into the broader framework of wisdom, philosophical and theological knowledge, as valid sources of knowledge and meaning for life in common. 

In this vein, the expansion of Covid-19 finds the Church praying to God for "the end of this test" The virus has been transmitted not only by those who suffer, but also by health agents, politicians, economists and specialists of all kinds who seek to offer solutions to the multiple problems deepened by the virus, all of whom are waiting for the development of a vaccine. 

The encyclical Laudato Si' -the most cited document of the Paris Climate Conference 2015-The fifth anniversary of the pandemic occurred on May 24. Today, amidst the shocking figures of the pandemic, the contradictions and imbalances of the self-sufficient technocratic paradigm criticized by the Pope can be perceived with greater clarity. However, "like the fog that seeps under the closed door."he argues poetically, "authentic humanity, which invites to a synthesis, seems to dwell in the midst of technological civilization.". Thus, the mist of the coronavirus challenges us, with Francis, to rescue the humanism of solidarity in the face of the risks of the "even worse virus of indifferent selfishness.".

As a response to implement the spirit of the encyclical in the challenges that are on the horizon, the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development announced on May 16, at a press conference, its response to the food and ecological crisis of Covid-19. Cardinal Turkson recalled that the Pope had called on them to go beyond a mere "preparing for the future" to work in "preparing for the future".The development of an ethical and scientific interconnection in search of multidimensional progress. Thus was born the Vatican Covid-19 CommissionDuffé, in collaboration with the Holy See and Caritas International, to offer - as Bishop Duffé explained - concrete proposals and reflections on "the relationships between the health, ecological, economic and social dimensions of the crisis".We are committed to the following: accompanying those who suffer, supporting new ways of caring for nature and human beings, and opening our doors to offer help.