Pope Francis once again waded into political territory with a Thanksgiving Day op-ed, condemning groups that protest COVID-19 lockdowns as Americans gathered together for one of the country’s most cherished holidays.
Writing for The New York Times, the pontiff lavished praise on governments that are making “great efforts” to protect people from the virus and criticized “exceptions.” Specifically, he appeared to dismiss the notion of “personal freedom.”
“With some exceptions, governments have made great efforts to put the well-being of their people first, acting decisively to protect health and to save lives,” Francis wrote. “The exceptions have been some governments that shrugged off the painful evidence of mounting deaths, with inevitable, grievous consequences. But most governments acted responsibly, imposing strict measures to contain the outbreak.”
Yet some groups protested, refusing to keep their distance, marching against travel restrictions — as if measures that governments must impose for the good of their people constitute some kind of political assault on autonomy or personal freedom! Looking to the common good is much more than the sum of what is good for individuals. It means having a regard for all citizens and seeking to respond effectively to the needs of the least fortunate.
It is all too easy for some to take an idea — in this case, for example, personal freedom — and turn it into an ideology, creating a prism through which they judge everything.
Lost on Francis was the fact that many people in America and around the world have protested the draconian lockdowns because of the devastating effect such restrictions have had on the businesses, jobs, incomes, and livelihoods needed to support their families.
Ironically, he goes on in the beginning of the op-ed about people who are going hungry “because there’s no work,” not realizing the reason there’s a lack of work amid the coronavirus pandemic is precisely because of the restrictions he favors.
Then, echoing the language of globalists and socialists, Pope Francis called for changing political and economic systems in response to the pandemic:
God asks us to dare to create something new. We cannot return to the false securities of the political and economic systems we had before the crisis. We need economies that give to all access to the fruits of creation, to the basic needs of life: to land, lodging and labor.
We need a politics that can integrate and dialogue with the poor, the excluded, and the vulnerable, that gives people a say in the decisions that affect their lives.
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