Humanity’s progress linked to the Resurrection of Christ, says argentine bishop

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Apr 18, 2006 / 22:00 pm

Archbishop Jose Maria Arancibia of Mendoza, Argentina, said this week that the Christian vision of progress is not pessimistic, but rather proposes to the human family a high ideal of life that encourages it to struggle with strength and hope for the sake of the good.
 
The archbishop expressed lament that for many, “the mysteries of the death and resurrection of Jesus have nothing to do with the problems that the family and society are facing today and that are of concern to the community and its leaders.”
 
The problems facing the world require a renewed focus on the meaning of Easter, he continued, because faith in the risen Christ is connected with humanity’s progress.  Overcoming such problems means enduring purification through the cross and resurrection of Christ and seeking perfection in all human activities which, because of pride and selfishness, are constantly at risk, the archbishop stated.
 
In speaking about Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Deus caritas est,” Archbishop Arancibia called it a “beautiful teaching about human love, which finds its healing and perfection in the grace of God.”   The Pope, he continued, speaks even of “a love that is capable of questioning all human activity and making the fundamental obligations of justice possible.”
 
The archbishop recalled that for Christians, “the striving to establish universal brotherhood is not a utopia.”  Rather, “love expressed through respect should not be practiced only in important moments, but also in the hundreds of occasions of daily life,” he said.
 
“This vital certainty has as its center the Paschal mystery, which becomes a source of wisdom and hope in these days as Jesus Christ, suffering death for all of us, teaches us to carry the cross that the flesh and the world place upon the shoulders of those who seek peace and justice,” the archbishop said in conclusion.