Picking up on the theme begin in the previous paragraph:
113. Here, regrettably, I feel bound to reiterate that “we have had enough of immorality and the mockery of ethics, goodness, faith and honesty. It is time to acknowledge that light-hearted superficiality has done us no good. Once the foundations of social life are corroded, what ensues are battles over conflicting interests”.[Laudato Si’ 229]
I’d be interested to hear a bit more of what Pope Francis has in mind here, the context. I think there is a lot in western culture that does mock some virtues. Mainly those without economic benefit. The corrosion referenced here leads to a kind of ideological cannibalism: those once allies in extreme positions turn on each other when most everyone else has left the game or yawned themselves to sleep.
Let us return to promoting the good, for ourselves and for the whole human family, and thus advance together towards an authentic and integral growth. Every society needs to ensure that values are passed on; otherwise, what is handed down are selfishness, violence, corruption in its various forms, indifference and, ultimately, a life closed to transcendence and entrenched in individual interests.
Citations of Fratelli Tutti (which can be found on this link) are © Copyright – Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Catholic Sensibility 