Pope Francis says pandemic exposed ‘fragility’ of world systems

Vatican City, Oct 4 (efe-epa).- Pope Francis said the coronavirus pandemic exposed the “fragility of world systems” and called for a “better kind of politics” that would serve the common good in his latest encyclical.

In the papal teaching, entitled Brothers All, Francis says: “As I was writing this letter, the Covid-19 pandemic unexpectedly erupted, exposing our false securities.

Aside from the different ways that various countries responded to the crisis, their inability to work together became quite evident.”

He said the fear and uncertainty brought on by the pandemic made it clear it was time to rethink “our styles of life, our relationships, the organization of our societies and, above all, the meaning of our existence.”

The Argentine head of the Catholic Church warned against plunging back into “feverish consumerism and new forms of egotistic self-preservation” once the health crisis has passed and that it was important to learn from the pandemic.

“If only we might keep in mind all those elderly persons who died for lack of respirators, partly as a result of the dismantling, year after year, of healthcare systems,” the pope said in the letter he signed before the tomb of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy.

The encyclical was inspired by the teachings of St. Francis.

Pope Francis addressed economic inequality in the world, saying the so-called trickle-down effect advocated by neoliberal policies was failing to help the poor.

“The marketplace, by itself, cannot resolve every problem, however much we are asked to believe this dogma of neoliberal faith,” he said.

“Whatever the challenge, this impoverished and repetitive school of thought always offers the same recipes.