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Ushering in the Year of Mercy

Following a year of atrocities, one enters 2016 with a cautious optimism
Ushering in the Year of Mercy
Published: January 04, 2016 09:05 AM GMT
Updated: June 01, 2016 03:25 AM GMT

A new morning is a reality that many take for granted. Plans for work, and with family and friends necessarily rest on the assumption that one day is replaced by another. In sociological terms, the possibility of everyday life thrives in the mundanity of patterns. In a way mundanity makes it possible to look forward to the coming year with some expectations and perhaps many plans too. 

And so in spite of the setbacks of 2015, surveys and reports show that governments and businesses are optimistic about 2016. Investments around Asia continue to expand and economic growth is still anticipated. Asia, after all, remains to be the "fastest-growing region of the global economy," as the IMF's Mitsuhiro Furusawa claimed in a speech to Central Bank governors in Manila last November.

The assumption that another morning will soon arrive keeps us hopeful.

And yet one can only be cautious with optimism. Although it speaks of Christmas as a "day of joy," a huge part of Pope Francis' "Urbi et Orbi" message is devoted to contemporary atrocities. In 2015, violent conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Libya fearfully mirrored each other. Terrorism in Paris and the influx of refugees around Europe became dangerously synonymous. In South and Southeast Asia, the suffering of the Rohingya people is in many ways a crime against humanity. In the Philippines, all the celebration over its stellar economic growth simply concealed the fact that it has never been inclusive. Lamentable too is the spread of preventable diseases in this part of the world.

Inaugurated on Dec. 8, the Jubilee Year of Mercy is therefore a timely intervention on the part of the Catholic Church. In his proclamation delivered last April, Pope Francis characterizes mercy as the "bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever." As a result, holy doors around the world were opened and specially appointed priests allowed to grant absolution for abortion. The jubilee also includes the granting of indulgences and calls for greater interreligious dialogues. Throughout the year, special events will be celebrated for various groups such as catechists, prisoners, deacons, and volunteers. The Year of Mercy is in effect a year to love and be loved.

In a significant way, therefore, the proclamation brings the church back to its fundamental calling. Pope Francis believes that mercy is the "very foundation of the church's life" and that "nothing in her preaching and in her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy." He recognizes the strong temptation for the church to instead exercise justice in lieu of mercy. This is true especially in societies where religious leaders vie for social and political power. But he acknowledges too that mercy seems to have become unfashionable in the wider culture. Meritocracy and the pursuit of wealth are pillars of neoliberalism, that, when left unchecked, can leave the weak behind and blame them for their own fortunes.

The morning will come tomorrow. I am sure of it. But we cannot merely wait for what tomorrow brings. Nor can we allow only the powerful to define it for us.      

And so 2016, the Year of Mercy, cannot simply be a series of religious events. Adherents of the faith and people of goodwill need to complement and in fact challenge, when necessary, any sense of optimism that will benefit only the few.

And if the atrocities of 2015 were any reminder, oppression in society is not simply economic in character. In 2016, the world still needs to confront authoritarian regimes, human displacement, the exploitation of workers, and the tyranny of powerful nations. Their victims are crying out for mercy.  

Jayeel Serrano Cornelio, a sociologist of religion, is the director of the development studies program at Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. He writes on religion, philanthropy, youth, and the city. Follow him on Twitter at @jayeel_cornelio.

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