The archbishop of San Juan de Cuyo, Monsignor Jorge Eduardo Lozano, asked today during the tedeum in the Cathedral not to cut assistance to the poor, alluding to the national government. “It is necessary to look at those who are falling along the way. Supporting the weak makes us strong in love. A great Nation is one that knows how to take care of the little ones,” he said in the homily.
“We cannot allow ourselves to be defeated by a fatalistic view that devastates the rights of the most vulnerable. If we proclaim equal opportunities, we have to take care of everyone,” he said, in the presence of the provincial authorities.
Along the same lines, he continued with his message of unity: “We must take care of the ties that unite us as a Nation, without raising walls of division and committing ourselves to building bridges of solidarity and encounter. We see with pain that offense, disqualification, and slander have become commonplace. Far from ‘everyone being in the same boat’, the ‘every man for himself’ is promoted, which pushes us to ‘all against all’.”
Then, Lozano referred to current events, specifically the national food distribution scandal. “The news that has been published these days about corruption in food distribution in some parts of the country is very serious. Food meant for the poor should not be misappropriated. That is trampling on their dignity and rots the social fabric. But it is not fair to cast a blanket of suspicion on so many charitable endeavors that are carried out with effort and generosity. That the guilty be investigated and prosecuted, but that assistance to the poor not be cut off. Never better said than ‘just end up paying for sinners.’”
THE COMPLETE MESSAGE
The Gospel that we have just proclaimed tells us about a conflict in the community of the Apostles. Two brothers, James and John, ask Jesus to secure the most important positions in the Kingdom of Heaven. Wanting to be on each side manifests the intention of acting as a filter for anyone who would like to approach the King.
They still have a worldly outlook, as if the bond with Jesus were a matter of climbing the ladder to ascend to positions of privilege and comfort. (Mk 10, 33-45)
The context in which they make this request is marked by the announcement that Jesus has just made: he will be imprisoned, sentenced to death, scourged, crucified and will be resurrected on the third day. The Master opened his heart to show his friends the gravity of the moment and the immediate future.
However, this confidence is ignored or taken as minor by the disciples. The indignation of the other ten was motivated by the fact that they were beaten first, rather than by what such selfish and manipulative misplacement implied.
With great patience Jesus brings them together to teach them about the helpful nature of authority. It is not about exercising power by dominating with arrogance. It is not a question of behaving like “owners of nations” to dispose according to one’s own whim.
The conclusion of the teaching is clear and unambiguous: “Whoever wants to be first must become the servant of all.” (Mk 10, 44)
The men and women who were protagonists of the May Revolution of 1810 left the comfort of their homes to attend the call of the open Town Council with the slogan “the People want to know what it is about.” The institutional decision matured in the awareness generated by citizen participation.
Also today it is necessary to go from being simply inhabitants who occupy a place, to considering ourselves citizens committed to the common good of society.
We have gathered today in this Cathedral Church to thank God for the beginnings of the Country. You are public servants, servants of all, taking into account our vocation to be a Nation. They were summoned to be friendly administrators of the common home and to organize society with a view to coexistence in justice and peace.
It is necessary to look at those who fall along the way. Supporting the weak makes us strong in love. A great Nation is one that knows how to take care of the little ones.
We cannot allow ourselves to be defeated by a fatalistic view that devastates the rights of the most vulnerable. If we proclaim equal opportunities, we must take care of everyone. Because “All life is worth”, from conception to natural death, in all its stages and all dimensions.
We must take care of the ties that unite us as a Nation, without raising walls of division and committing ourselves to building bridges of solidarity and encounter. We see with pain that offense, disqualification, and slander have become commonplace. Far from “everyone being in the same boat”, the “every man for himself” is promoted, which pushes us to “all against all”.
The news that has been published these days about corruption in food distribution in some parts of the country is very serious. Food meant for the poor should not be misappropriated. That is trampling on their dignity and rots the social fabric. But it is not fair to cast a blanket of suspicion on so many charitable endeavors that are carried out with effort and generosity. That the guilty be investigated and prosecuted, but that assistance to the poor not be cut off. Never better said than “just end up paying for sinners.”
Corruption and drug trafficking are weeds that choke the wheat stalks. For decades, ineffectiveness, bribery, impunity, and violence have led us to an increasingly difficult situation. You can’t have half measures.
We live in difficult situations in the world and wars that do not stop. Destruction and death seem to install themselves without giving the opportunity for truce and dialogue.
In this context of disappointment we run the risk of thinking that there is no room for hope. However, it is when we most need to look towards horizons that help us walk in a direction that mobilizes us internally.
Last year the Pope called a meeting of University Rectors from various countries around the world. The motto he proposed to them was “organize hope.” This is not an individual virtue, but a collective one.
Saint Paul exhorts us: “Love each other cordially with brotherly love (…) and consider the needs of the poor as your own” (Rom 12, 10 – 13).
God helps us with his grace and makes us members of the same family.
Jorge Eduardo Lozano
Archbishop of San Juan de Cuyo
Argentina
