A Globalization of Indifference

On October 3, 2013, there was a catastrophe off the coast of Lampedusa, a pinprick of an island halfway between Malta and Tunisia.  Three hundred refugees from Eritrea and Somalia had traveled nearly 3,000 miles to reach asylum in Italy when disaster struck and their raft caught fire half a mile from safety.  A day of mourning in Italy was declared.  In the wake of the tragedy, Pope Francis made a special visit to the island to console the mourning families and offer a mass for the victims. 

Public officials blamed the tragedy on the situation in the Mediterranean, across which migrants are trafficked regularly.  But in his homily on August 7, 2013, the pope chastised the world for its “globalization of indifference” that had allowed the situation to come about, as well as our typical responses to such events.  “Who is responsible for the blood of these brothers and sisters?  No one!  We all respond this way,” he said.  “Not me, it has nothing to do with me, there are others, certainly not me.”

It is true:  although we are connected by so much--social media, internet, cell phones, airplanes, 24/7 news coverage--we neglect the element of human existence that demands we attend to our neighbors around us on earth before looking for the next source of entertainment.  We live in bubbles, insulated from the sufferings of others.  We watch Netflix for eight hours non-stop instead of engaging with our families or communities (not that I’ve ever done this before).  We trade information about stocks instead of ideas on better migration procedures.  OK, maybe not at the individual level, but when was the last time you engaged in a conscious act of solidarity in lieu of one sought for your own comfort?  Have you been keeping up with the events in Syria, Thailand, or Ukraine, have you looked for ways you can contribute, or maybe said a quick prayer?

Gaudium et Spes calls us specifically to solidarity with those around the globe in addition to those next door.  The Church does not paint a malicious picture of globalization.  Humans do, after all, participate in creation through God’s goodness and Providence; the maturation of mankind as a whole, including advances in technology, is a good thing.  But at the same time, “all that men do to obtain greater justice, wider brotherhood, a more humane disposition of social relationships has greater worth than technical advances” (35).  The tools of globalization are just that--tools--that can aid us in our active quest to solve the problems that still remain.  

Francis recalled the possibility of a “globalization of solidarity,” a world in which we are connected with one another not on a superficial level, but united in pursuit of a society that puts the individual’s dignity above instant satisfaction.  We must put problems that can result in 300-count death tolls before that next Netflix binge.  

For Francis' full homily:
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/07/08/pope_on_lampedusa:_%E2%80%9Cthe_globalization_of_indifference%E2%80%9D/en1-708541

More on the Lampedusa events:  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24380247