What makes the world go round

By Andrea Tornielli

What makes the world go round? Some might say the economy, others class struggle, others still curiosity, or the desire to embark on new ventures and experiments. Some might say love. More than thirty years ago, an elderly woman in Argentina told then-Bishop Bergoglio that divine mercy is the keystone that supports the world, ("if the Lord did not forgive everything, the world would not exist"). Today, Pope Francis pointed to what he believed is the "engine" that makes the world turn. Speaking from the Cathedral in Jakarta, the Pope explained that it is "charity expressed through compassion" that makes the world go round. He said that compassion is not about offering help or alms to the needy "while looking down on them," but instead means bending down to truly connect with those on the ground, lifting them up and giving them hope. It also means embracing the dreams and desires for justice and redemption of the needy, becoming promoters and collaborators in their cause.

Some people fear compassion, the Bishop of Rome noted, "because they see it as a weakness." Instead, they praise cunning as if it were a virtue, the cunning of those who pursue their own interests while keeping their distance from everyone, refusing to be "touched" by anything or anyone, believing that this will make them freerer to achieve their goals. But this, the Pope explained, is "a false way of viewing reality." Because "what drives the world forward is not calculations of self-interest—which generally end up destroying creation and dividing communities—but charity which gives itself." "Compassion does not cloud a real vision of life; rather, it helps us see things more clearly, in the light of love."

Compassion is what Jesus exemplifies on every page of the Gospel: He does not remain indifferent to reality, but is deeply moved, allowing Himself to be wounded by the stories and the needs of those He encounters. Indifference, on the other hand, which over time hardens into cynicism, leads us to believe we are freer. But in reality, it gradually makes us less human.