What does the Pandemic indicate us?
Cardinal Michael Czerny summarizes very briefly and accurately the message of Pope Francis's "Life after the Pandemic" in its introduction. Even if you read it, you will be able to learn a lot of things from it.
It is now official issues to have doubts about present industrial system, change it, take care of the unofficial workers and support the people attending the old and sick. … Thanks to COVID-19 we realize now everything cooperates and relates each other. Everybody is threatened by economic gap, global warming and no policy of the government. We should understand the change will make a great influence on the present paradigm and system which involve the whole world in a danger.
(Translation from the Japanese text)
"The unofficial workers" means the people who don't work on the stage of our society but support it in the base of the society. For example, merchants of street stalls, rubbish collectors, acting troupes, tenant farmers, and day laborers. "The paradigm and system which involve the whole world in a danger" means a whole structure of mankind which have brought competitions and wars in all levels of politics, economics and culture. Pope Francis appeals:
I hope this crisis will be a chance for us to recover our own life in our hands, awake our conscience from sleeping, and make human and ecological conversion from mammonism to the world which truly respects human life and dignity. Our culture is in a severe ompetition and selfish individualism and driven by the excessive production and consumption. But only a handful of the people is enjoying unreasonable benefits and luxuries. We have to reconsider and renew this culture now.
Pastor Fr. Paul A. Kunori o.c.d.