The Pope has denounced the “gentrification” of cities that exacerbates the problem of access to housing, while admitting that in the Church “sexist and dictatorial attitudes persist”, as expressed in his new book, ‘Hope never disappoints’published this Tuesday in Spain by Ediciones Messengero.
“Market forces transform what were previously true communities for all into luxury spaces for few,” says the Pontiff in this volume, prepared and edited by Hernán Reyes, an Argentine journalist who in 2022 also published with this publishing house ‘Os I pray in the name of God’, a synthesis of the reflections of Jorge Mario Bergoglio on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his pontificate.
Thus, Francisco denounces that one of the “most subtle” forms of “forced displacement” of families who have always lived in a neighborhood is “the increase in rents without state control, which in the name of supposed market freedom leaves millions helpless.” of people.
«Luxury spaces for few»
The Pontiff denounces that the urban housing policies that allowed housing thousands of workers and residents of large cities «have given way to a voracious race of market forces to transform what were previously true communities for all into luxury spaces for a few.
«More and more areas of the main cities become ‘fashion polos’ in which the places for those who historically inhabited them are reduced. The original inhabitants end up being displaced so that the place changes completely,” he laments.
For this reason, he denounces that cities offer “innumerable pleasures and well-being for a happy minority” while “the historical inhabitants are swept under the rug.” In this sense, the Pontiff fits this complaint into a broader criticism of “an increasingly savage capitalism” that seeks to “empower an exacerbated individualism.”
The main theme of the book, 96 pagesis hope in the face of “the globalization of indifference that magnifies the culture of the self in which there are fewer and fewer spaces for group belonging.” In this regard, Francis warns of the radical difference that exists between optimism and hope, and invites us to cultivate the latter as “an antidote to the spirit of hopelessness that grows in society” and therefore tries to show that “hope always has human face” and that is why there are situations and structures that need to be faced with courage and creativity.
“Pain and shame” for victims of abuse
Analyzing the interior of the Church, Francis affirms: “Because we need hope, I want to reiterate that I still feel pain and shame for the irreparable damage caused to children and adults who are victims of sexual abuse, abuse of conscience and power by the clergy throughout the world.
“There is too much money concentrated in the hands of too few”diagnoses the Pope, who calls for fair tax policies. “The structures of sin today include repeated tax cuts for the richest people,” says Francis, who points to taxation of the new super-rich as “one of the most progressive, fair and necessary paths we can take to reverse rising inequality.” ».
The Pope also warns against “the idea that the poor are not only responsible for their condition, but that they constitute an intolerable burden, as if many of those who today enjoy a well-off position had not reached those places thanks to having gone to schools and public universities. “It is necessary for politics to recover its expected role of guidance and control of market forces,” he asserts.
On the other hand, Francis praises the strength of immigration in a society and defends “the hope of people forced to abandon their land.” “I am the son of immigrants and my family felt in their bodies what it is like to arrive in an unknown city,” he admits.
Thus, he warns against the use of two words “that feed the fears of many populations: invasion and emergency.” “More than proven realities, they seem to be the workhorses of a few who benefit electorally,” he criticizes.
The Pope also reiterates his condemnation of surrogacy, which he sees as part of a “reproductive industry” and attacks violence and discrimination against women. At this point, he recognizes that in the Church “sexist and dictatorial attitudes persist.”
In any case, the Pope recalls that in his 12 years of pontificate he has tried to promote the entry of women into the Roman Curia and the Vatican. “But that is not a ceiling, but rather we must take it as a floor from which to continue promoting its incorporation,” he points out, which is why he calls for “demasculinizing the Church.”
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