When the Western Roman Empire, made Christianity the state religion in the 5th and 6th centuries and then collapsed with the German invasion, the church faced a major crisis. At this time, the religious community founded by Saint Benedict (480-547) contributed to the promotion of church spirituality and Western European culture, allowing Europe to escape from the "dark night of history" that followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, medieval churches were eroded by material abundance as they entered a period of commercial revival following the agricultural society. At this time, Saint Francis of Assisi heard the Lord's call to "rebuild the collapsing church" and reform the spirit of the church as a life that thoroughly follows the gospel of poverty, charity, and obedience.
In the 14th and 16th centuries, when the Protestant Reformation divided Christianity and the outbreak of the Black Death in Europe the 'magisterium' of the church was at stake. At this time, St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Teresa of Avila renewed the Christian faith, and the church overcame this crisis through reform and renewal by holding the Council of Trent.
The 1st and 2nd Vatican Councils held in the 19th and 20th centuries were also carried out to renew and reform the church. The two councils were held to deal with the problems of atheism, secularization, and adaptation to modern society. In each crisis, the church has responded through religious movements, the emergence of saints, and the holding of church councils.
In the face of today's late industrial society, the church is facing the problem of our global environment, collective depression caused by the crisis of human identity, the dissolution of the family, and the collapse of the community. There is a deep shadow over the core relationship: with God, people, and nature.
On May 24, 2015, on the Feast of Pentecost, Pope Francis issued the encyclical Laudato Si. The Pope analyzed the cause of the collapse of the "common house" and suggested a solution. In this Encyclical, we listened to the cry of the Earth, suffering, and groaning due to human arrogance, greed, and predatory attitudes, and reflected on our common home, the Earth, from the perspective of faith, calling for repentance and right action.
We also suffer from a crisis of human identity. We don't know who we are, cannot connect to God, the master of life, and live a life floating on the ocean like a buoy. This leads to an unsatisfactory and gloomy life not feeling the grace and blessing given by God. It can be said that our society is currently in a mass depression. The three typical phenomena of depression are prevalent.
Depression is first revealed as an addiction, obsessed with objects to fill the emotional emptiness and loneliness. The reason why people are obsessed with honor, power, or pleasure is that their hearts are empty. Depression secondly may show aggression against others. Aggression in cyberspace, as well as physical violence or mental abuse against others. Third, depression turns out to be aggression against oneself. The extreme action that attacks oneself is suicide. How many people can't respect themselves even if they haven't committed suicide?
In addition, our society is experiencing the collapse of the community. Divorced and incomplete families are exploding, non-marriage culture and the damage to traditional family concepts are gradually decreasing the likelihood that a human being will be born and grow within a loving family.
People are losing a sense of belonging and are becoming increasingly isolated psychologically. Although living in an apartment, residential space in a new city, the apartment culture is a cluster life without relationships. The problem with today's community is not only the loss of relationships but also the marginalization of the socially vulnerable. The distorted distribution structure of the poor and the rich intensifies social inequality and health inequality.
Pope Francis issued the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, on the Feast of Saint Francis on October 3, 2020, in connection with these issues. The subtitle of this Encyclical is 'on fraternity and social friendship'. The Encyclical emphasizes the need to re-establish the dignity of the human person and rebuild the social system. The need to revive a sense of community as the main content.
Human
identity, social community, and the global environment are the crisis
mentioned by Pope Francis. They are problems to solve for human survival
and completion of humanity— the crisis of "home". How will you restore
the collapsing house? This is a key task that our era must urgently
consider and solve.
