In his weekly general audience in Saint Peter’s Square on Wednesday, Pope Francis said that the coronavirus pandemic “has shed light on broader social ills” which include “a distorted view of the person, a perspective that ignores the dignity and relational dimension of the person.”
“At times we look at others as objects, to be used and discarded,” the pope stated. “In reality, this type of perspective blinds and fosters an individualistic and aggressive throw-away culture, which transforms the human being into a consumer good.”
The human being “is a social being,” Francis said, and we need to live in “social harmony.” The attitudes that most damage that harmony, he suggested, are an indifference toward others and an individualism that looks out only for its own interests. By contrast, “Jesus proposes another type of vision: that of service and of giving one’s life for others,” Francis said.
“While we all work for a cure for a virus that strikes everyone without distinction, faith exhorts us to commit ourselves seriously and actively to combat indifference in the face of violations of human dignity,” he added.