Pope Francis: to Swedish Academy, “do not play into the hands of the culture of indifference”

“The prolonged crisis of the pandemic has tested our capacity to dialogue with others”. This is the point made by Pope Francis as he received in audience the members of the Swedish Academy - which awards the Nobel Prize each year -, inviting them to embrace “the daily practice of encounter and dialogue: a style of living that makes no headlines, yet helps the human community to move forward and to grow in social friendship”, as suggested in chapter 6 of the encyclical “Fratelli Tutti”, dedicated to this theme. “This is no doubt due to the long periods of confinement and the fact that the entire experience of the pandemic has deeply affected people, often unconsciously”, Pope Francis remarked. “We find ourselves a little more distant from others, a little more reserved, perhaps more guarded, or simply less inclined to join with others, to work side by side, with the satisfaction and effort born of building something together”. “It is important to recognize this situation, which threatens each of us as persons, since it diminishes our capacity for relationships, and impoverishes society and the world around us”, the Pope warned. This trend, he added, “also risks playing unwittingly into the hands of the culture of indifference”. “I am certain that, from your privileged point of view, you share this concern”, the Pontiff said, paying homage to the attendees.
Valentina Bombelli