I am not a Catholic; I am not a church-goer. I have doubts about the existence of God and of consciousness after death. Yet I felt a powerful call to pay attention to Pope Francis when he visited America. The origin of this summons was my deep and urgent hope for a global leader to rise from the chaos and darkness of global turmoil, violence, regression and destruction—a visionary and value-driven leader of moral courage who can ascend above the numbing and destruction of the human spirit (evil) so common in today’s world and lead a conscious evolution of the human condition in a direction of greater wisdom and maturity.
I paid rapt attention to the Pope’s visit. Several things touched me. One of them:
The Pope said to Congress:
On this continent too, thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. Is this not what we want for our own children? We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation. To respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Mt 7:12).
Jewish theologian Martin Buber wrote of I-It and I-Thou relationships. I-It relationships relate to an entity as an object, whose only value is extrinsic. In an I-It relationship we value a creation only insofar as it serves our purposes. This is the relationship we have towards objects, and, sadly, too often, towards other people. Thinking of people as objects makes it easier for us to demonize and discard them.
The I-Thou relationship is the relationship we should always have with other people. This is a relationship of respect in which the person has intrinsic value, value in and of himself or herself, regardless of whether that person can produce any external value for us. In an I-Thou relationship we see another person as a soul that seeks expression, just as we ourselves do. We understand that what we do to others we do to ourselves. We treat others as we want to be treated. The I-Thou relationship demonstrates dignity and responsibility.
Melanie and I spent last winter in the Sonoran Desert not far from the border with Mexico. My observations prompted me to read to learn more about the crossers–the people the Pope talked about–to better experience them as fellow human beings. In search of a better life, they are often demonized, marginalized and victimized. People on both sides of the border often treat them as objects and abandon them to die anonymous and lonely deaths cared about by no one.
But for the randomness of biology, we too might be one of these forgotten people.
No one has the right to harm the spirit of another.
Tom's Thoughts 
The issue extends not only to the way we treat immigrants, but also people who live in poverty, subordinates at work, unborn babies, and the list goes on. Pope Francis is quite the ambassador for environmental consciousness, humility, goodness, kindness, holiness, thoughtfulness, and love of all mankind. I hope he has many more years to spread his influence.
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Yes it does Meg. Thanks for commenting.
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Well said Tom.
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Thanks Jay.
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Nice. I think I observed an example of an I-it relationship the other day while listening to a really disrespectful man interrogate (only word that fits) the female President of Planned Parenthood. This is type of person who’s being “elected” to “represent” the people. Judy From: Tom’s Thoughts To: spiritwalker63@sbcglobal.net Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2015 9:14 AM Subject: [New post] Pope Francis on Migration #yiv5407965601 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv5407965601 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv5407965601 a.yiv5407965601primaryactionlink:link, #yiv5407965601 a.yiv5407965601primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv5407965601 a.yiv5407965601primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv5407965601 a.yiv5407965601primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv5407965601 WordPress.com | Tom Heuerman posted: “I am not a Catholic; I am not a church-goer. I have doubts about the existence of God and of consciousness after death. Yet I felt a powerful call to pay attention to Pope Francis when he visited America. The origin of this summons was my deep and urgent ” | |
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We can see I-it interactions all around us every day. What is unusual is the I-thou interactions that the Pope demonstrated.
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The tendency to view groups of other people as “its” has been a sad constant in human history. But as you point out, it is a hopeful sign when a leader encourages us to view others with compassion, and to treat them with the dignity and respect that any human being deserves. And what I love about Pope Francis is that he doesn’t just preach it — he actually *does* it.
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I found it powerful to watch him talk about how we treat people and then model for everyone how to do it.
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Well said Tom. I admit to crying while watching his address to congress. I was so impressed by him and his words. I am now a Lutheran and attend church weekly. Our Pastor repeated parts of pope Francis speech and challenged all of us to be better people, caring for ALL. I hope and pray some of what he said gets through to our leaders.
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Thanks Ray. I was deeply touched by the Pope’s words and actions. I never would have thought that would happen.
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He is an outstanding human ….very mature. I just pray that no idiot from the church or elsewhere tries to kill him….given our history with reformers…….
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Hi Dave, I agree. Have to worry about the safety of any truly outstanding person.
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Tom and all,
Today is Canadian Thanksgiving and I am taking some time to catch up on emails and also to reflect on so many aspects of my life in and for which I give thanks.
Too many to name them all here, but Pope Francis is among them — a rare, courageous, world-visible, change-making, lead-by-example Leader.
I am far from being a Catholic, but I consciously attempt to give true Christ-ian principles to my daily living.
Thank you for bringing your spotlight to this Pope and to the many areas of life where his spotlight shines in a very public way.
In loving spirit, Eleanor
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Thanks Eleanor!
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Just now got around to reading it, Tom. Thanks for reminding me how much I like Pope Francis. I am an ex-Catholic, ex-Christian, agnostic lover of Nature and I am sooo glad to see and hear a Catholic leader that appears to “get it.” He is a breath of fresh air.
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Thanks Kathy.
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