COVID-19 was (or perhaps still ‘can be’) very bad.  It plunged humanity into a dark night. It destabilised our daily lives, upset our plans and routines, and disrupted the apparent tranquillity of even the most affluent societies. COVID-19 generated disorientation and suffering, and caused the death of millions.

But when that particular virus was on the wane, and we started to hope that the darkest hours were over, a terrible new virus befell humanity: the virus of another war, over and above, with worse consequences than other wars that plague the world.  Russia invaded Ukraine.

The above is in part a paraphrase and in part a word-for-word reproduction of what Pope Francis wrote in his message for the 56th World Day of Peace the Church celebrates on January 1.

He correctly states that “certainly, the virus of war is more difficult to overcome than the viruses that compromise our bodies, because it comes, not from outside of us, but from within the human heart corrupted by sin … While a vaccine has been found for COVID-19, suitable solutions have not yet been found for the war.”

This was not the post-COVID era we prayed for or dreamed of. Francis does not stop at painting a negative picture, realistic as it is. He also identified lack of solidarity as the cause. That cause the progenitor of so many disasters is as old as Cain.

I am not my brother’s keeper was Cain’s way of negating one of the most basic constituents of human nature: solidarity. Cain’s famous dictum has been adapted and repackaged in different words in different times, but albeit with the same meaning.

I am not my brother’s keeper was Cain’s way of negating one of the most basic constituents of human nature: solidarity- Fr Joe Borg

One populist variation on the same theme is “I am all right, Jack”. The phrase, which is believed to have originated among Royal Navy sailors and popularised in a 1959 comedy film, refers to a quintessential egoistic attitude, especially when the four-lettered expletive is appended. “America first” or “Malta full-up”, or “Italians first” printed on the T shirts of Matteo Salvini’s supporters are linguistically more polite words of saying the same thing Cain said.

The biggest antidote to Cain’s doctrine is, says Francis without referring to Cain, “to restore the word ‘together’ to a central place. For it is together, in fraternity and solidarity, that we build peace, ensure justice and emerge from the greatest disasters.”

This attitude of collective egoism spells disaster for humanity. Pope Francis proposes a pincer attack on the legacy of Cain: common good over personal or national interest; and secondly, the recognition of the interconnectedness of the problems facing us.

The first arm of the pincer attack, that is the pre-eminence of the common good, he explained in these words:

“We can no longer think exclusively of carving out space for our personal or national interests; instead, we must think in terms of the common good, recognising that we belong to a greater community, and opening our minds and hearts to universal human fraternity. We cannot continue to focus simply on preserving ourselves.”

Interconnectedness, or the second dimension of the pincer attack on Cain’s legacy, means that “we cannot ignore one fundamental fact, namely that the many moral, social, political and economic crises we are experiencing are all interconnected, and what we see as isolated problems are actually causes and effects of one another.”

Wisely said indeed! Adapt the pope’s words locally and spot both their interconnectedness and the link with the inheritance of Cain:

The exploitation of the environment for the good of the few and the disadvantage of the many;

Selling passports to the super-rich but leaving a four-year-old girl die of thirst on the high seas;

The virus of inequality evidenced in the increasing gap between the high-earners and the low-earners;

The development of a sub-proletariat class of Third World nationals treated by some like slaves;

The insistence on introducing abortion, the worst form of exploitation of the most vulnerable, with the complicit silence of those who consider their mission to enhance human rights.

There is hope in the Christian’s response to the ideology of Cain which is succinctly explained by Francis:

“Only by responding generously, with an altruism inspired by God’s infinite and merciful love, will we be able to build a new world and contribute to the extension of his kingdom, which is a kingdom of love, justice and peace.”