Given at Westminster Cathedral on 1st October 2018
Over the summer I began to read Philippe Sands’s extraordinary book, East West Street. He researches the lives of two international lawyers, Hersch Lauterpacht and Rafael Lemkin, whose works contributed to the Nuremberg Trials and in particular focuses on the trial of Hans Frank. Through their life’s work, the meaning of the terms 'crimes against humanity' and 'genocide' are respectively developed. The fascinating insight of the book is the way in which their lives intersected with his own family history, events and the history of the city of Lviv in modern Ukraine, formerly Lemberg and Lwów (Polish), Lvov (Russia). He shows how it was in the crucible of the suffering of Jewish families and in migration to Vienna, Paris and London that the understanding of 'crimes against humanity' and 'genocide' were forged for the good of all peoples.
The news that summer evening showed the harrowing images of the life of the Rohingya people in the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. These people, almost one million of them, are part of the unprecedented 65.Six million people around the world have been forced from home by conflict and persecution at the end of 2016. The United Nations report that 'the world is witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record.' People focus on numbers, but behind each number, there is a person, a family, and human suffering which cries out to heaven.
During the summer the Cardinal visited the Jesuit Refugee Service and later spoke of the terrible situations of some asylum seekers, 'If you’re here for 10 years and you can’t have a residence, you can’t study, you can’t work, you have no income, it’s as if you are being told you are a "nonperson", and it’s that darkness that we have listened to this afternoon. I can think of no other word than to say it is a shame on our country… And it can’t be right… that a person is left in this limbo, this no-man’s land, for 10 or more years, in a country as sophisticated and as affluent as ours.'
None of these challenges have simple solutions; that is the subject of much wider political dialogue. Pope Francis’ words remind us of the direction of reflection: 'A better world will come about only if attention is first paid to individuals; if human promotion is integral, taking account of every dimension of the person, including the spiritual; if no one is neglected, including the poor, the sick, prisoners, the needy and the stranger (cf. Mt 25:31-46); if we can prove capable of leaving behind a throwaway culture and embracing one of encounter and acceptance.'
Human flourishing is integrally linked to the care for the gift of God’s creation. Persons and their well-being, their freedom and their justice, must be at the centre of all our economic activity.
You contribute to this task through your expertise and the establishment of justice founded in the dignity of the human person. Today your professional life is practiced in a context in which everyone is an expert, whether in theology, medicine or law, and the power of social media mobilises and stirs the emotions of people on every conceivable topic. We speak of 'fake news' and a 'post-truth' society. The shrill voices cloud perceptions so that it is easy to lose sight of the dignity of each woman and man.
The recent letter of Pope Francis on the call to holiness Gaudete et Exultate (2018) reminds each of you that the call of your baptism and confirmation is to become holy, to become a saint, through the daily events of your professional and family lives. The service and responsibility for justice contributes to the task of the spread of the gospel and the protection of the dignity of persons, 'created in the image of God and called to realise likeness to him here on earth' (Lumen Fidei 53). As in the above examples, injustice is revealed in human suffering. Be close to the cross in the lives of people you serve. Your vocation is to examine each case and take steps to serve justice so that the dignity of the person is protected and fostered.
Jesus promised his disciples that 'the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you' (John 14: 26). 'To judge wisely [you] will need a deep motivation, an expression of a hidden wisdom, God’s wisdom; which can be received through the Holy Spirit.'
This wisdom is to be found by reflecting on the Beatitudes and their relationship to holiness: 'Hungering and thirsting for righteousness: that is holiness' (GE 79). 'Seeing and acting with mercy: that is holiness' (GE 82). 'Sowing peace all around us: that is holiness' (GE 89). The wisdom that you seek comes from the prompting of the Holy Spirit who helps you to discern the ways to establish justice, to heal with mercy, and to build peace in conflict and dispute.
Finally, the Pope reminds us 'Far from being timid, morose, acerbic, or melancholic, or putting on a dreary face, the saints are joyful and full of good humour. Though completely realistic, they radiate a positive and hopeful spirit. The Christian life is "joy in the Holy Spirit"'. (GE 122) Further, 'Christian joy is usually accompanied by a sense of humour. We see this clearly, for example, in Saint Thomas More, Saint Vincent de Paul and St Philip Neri. Ill humour is no sign of holiness.'(GE 126)
We pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and ask the intercession of St. Thomas More. May the pursuit of justice be accompanied by good humour and Christian joy.