As Christians we have the example of Jesus who felt comfortable with all, his love was all embracing, extending even to the enemy. An article in the Catholic Times by a priest asks us to overcome the
the culture of hate which is obvious to all but feel helpless to confront.
Adolf Hitler's "My Struggle", a compilation of his thoughts, expresses hatred of Jews in words difficult even to transcribe.
However, as is well known, discrimination against Jews has been a common phenomenon in Western Europe long before Hitler appeared.
In the Middle Ages, when plagues were prevalent, Jews were often blamed for bringing about these disasters. People in those days, when faced with the 'evil' of natural disasters were willing to participate blindly in scapegoating others. The genocide of Jews in World War II, a tragic tragedy in human history, cannot be viewed only as the sin of Hitler and his 'blind believers'. The 'Holocaust' the extreme way a totalitarian society made overt fear and hatred of the Jews the 'enemy'.
Currently,
humanity is suffering from an unprecedented disaster due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. While important to do all that is possible to prevent the
spread of the virus, fear-stricken countries raise barriers; we need to be on the lookout for the growing culture of hatred. The phenomenon
of treating and rejecting a specific region or country as a virus host
is far from a Christian view of our situation.
Many experts say, we now have to live in a world different from before COVID-19. To cope with disasters that may continue even after COVID-19, humankind must work more closely together. We need to create a more peaceful world where we can respond to global disasters together, rather than a world where countries and peoples are divided, fear each other, and threaten each other with military force.
We need to reflect on the nature of the crisis and pain that
afflicts the human family, breaking away from the mechanism of 'othering' — us and them kind of thinking. And refraining from making scapegoats of others.
In his address to the 53rd World Day of Peace, Pope Francis emphasizes the culture of fraternal encounter in order to overcome fear, the source of conflict, saying: "The culture of fraternal encounter leads us beyond the limits of our narrow horizons, constantly encouraging us to live in universal brotherhood as children of the one Father in Heaven."
It is the season of Advent waiting for the Lord to come for the reconciliation of the divided world. Pray that our church will better fulfill its vocation to unity in the face of the calamity of fear that fuels division and hatred.
