Turin archbishop decries "profit of few and loneliness of many" prevail in globalised world
By Novena December 22, 2019
The Archbishop of Turin, in Italy, has decried that in our globalised world "the profit of a few and the loneliness of many seem to prevail".
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Thirty years into the globalisation that has led to an increasingly interconnected and interdependent society "we have not yet understood how profound the changes have been, and above all we have not sufficiently equipped ourselves to exercise a concrete vigilance over what is happening", Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia lamented in an interview with SIR.
"In this Pope Francis is giving us very important lessons. His pointing the finger at the 'logic of waste' should lead us to reflect even more intensely on the consequences of what is happening", the prelate recalled.
Nosiglia was reflecting on the ongoing economic and social crisis in Turin, which has led not only to factory closures and job losses but also to depletions in everyday living conditions, schools, transport, infrastructure, health care and the culture of welcome in the northern Italian city.
"There is a need for harmony and the necessary policies to develop and implement projects in common. It's certainly not easy", the archbishop mused.
In terms of the economic downturn, Nosiglia admitted that "there is one thing that worries me more than others: that we resign ourselves to poverty".
"There is the risk of having 'two cities'" in Turin, the archbishop warned: "a community of the well-off, who are able to face crises without suffering too much, and a world of people increasingly in difficulty".
For that reason it is important that these two cities "know each other", Nosiglia said, "talk to each other, confront each other, because our territory is also our 'destiny'.
"We must realize that territory is not just a geographical expression", the prelate explained.
As a prescription for emerging from the crisis, Nosiglia said one attitude in particular is key: that of "moving away from indifference".
"Inequality is fought, and defeated, with solidarity", the archbishop said, warning that "if instead one resigns oneself to the fact that today the lives of so many, above all young people, must be precarious, the game is over and everyone loses".
In the fight to overcome that indifference, Nosiglia said the Church's social doctrine can be of assistance.
Above all in that doctrine's insistence on the dignity of the person and its reminder that capital, work-as-commodity, exploitation and profit are not the only criteria to take into account in investments.
Far from defending "feel-good" economic models, the Church simply teaches that "everything must be included in a wider and more comprehensive 'project of man and world'", Nosiglia explained.
"As a priest it is my duty to stay close to those who are out of work or risk losing it", the archbishop said, pleading with the authorities for "a new 'development model'" in which "work must be at the centre".
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