the ‘cancel culture’, the new face of colonialism

Addressing the civil authorities of Canada, Francis warned against the new “ideological colonization that suffocates the values ​​of the people.” He called for “learn from the natives the care of the family”. New appeal against war: “We do not need to divide the world into friends and enemies.”

Quebec () – “Residential schools” to assimilate indigenous peoples are a “deplorable system” of the past for which we must apologize. But we cannot fail to see that even today there are forms of “ideological colonization” that suffocate the deepest values ​​of peoples in the name of new “cultural fashions.” Pope Francis said these words as he addressed the Canadian political world from Quebec, the Francophone province where he continues his apostolic journey. The pontiff arrived in the afternoon from Edmonton and, after privately visiting Governor General Mary Simon and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, delivered a speech addressed to the civil authorities of the country, in the presence of representatives of indigenous peoples and the body diplomatic.

“If at one time the colonialist mentality neglected the concrete life of the people, imposing pre-established cultural models – Francis said -, even today there is no lack of ideological colonization that contrasts the reality of existence, suffocates the natural attachment to the values ​​of peoples trying to uproot their traditions, their history and their religious ties. The Pope warned against the mentality that “presuming to have overcome ‘the dark pages of history,’ gives way to a ‘cancel culture’ a ‘cancel culture’ that evaluates the past based on certain current categories”. Thus a cultural fashion is implanted that standardizes, makes everything the same, does not tolerate differences and focuses only on the present moment, on the needs and the rights of individuals, often neglecting the duties towards the weakest and most fragile: the poor, the migrants, the elderly, the sick, the unborn… They are the ones forgotten in welfare societies; which, amid general indifference, are discarded like dry leaves to be burned”.

One of the most specific areas where this happens today is the family, “the first concrete social reality, but it is threatened by many factors: domestic violence, work frenzy, individualistic mentality, unbridled careerism, unemployment, loneliness of young people, the abandonment of the elderly and the sick. Indigenous peoples – Francis commented – have much to teach us about the care and protection of the family, where as children we learn to recognize what is right and what is wrong , to tell the truth, to share, to correct mistakes, to start over, to reconcile. May the evil suffered by indigenous peoples serve as a warning to us today, so that the care and rights of the family are not left behind. side in the name of eventual demands of production and individual interests”.

The meeting with the civil authorities and the diplomatic corps was an opportunity to once again condemn the war that today bloodies and starves the world, starting with Ukraine: “We don’t need to divide the world into friends and enemies – said the Pontiff – to distance ourselves and arm ourselves to the teeth: the arms race and deterrence strategies will not bring peace and security. The question should not be how to continue wars, but how to stop them. And prevent peoples from being held hostage again to the clutches of cold wars , fearsome and prolonged. Creative and forward-looking policies are needed, which know how to get out of partisan schemes to respond to global challenges”.

“Peace, climate change, the effects of pandemics, international migration,” the Pope listed, “are global challenges that concern everyone.” And if they all speak of the need to be together, politics cannot remain a prisoner of partisan interests. One must know how to look, as indigenous wisdom teaches, at the seven future generations, not at immediate convenience, at electoral deadlines or at the support of the lobby. And also, to value the wishes of fraternity, justice and peace of the young generations”.

Referring to multiculturalism, the Pope thanked Canada for its generosity in welcoming Ukrainian and Afghan refugees. Likewise, he said that it is necessary to work “to overcome the rhetoric of fear towards immigrants”, recalling that “life in common is based on premises that the political system alone cannot produce.” “In these days I have heard of numerous people in need knocking on the doors of parishes,” he added. “It is scandalous that the wealth generated by economic development does not benefit all sectors of society. That the emblem of the leaf of maple – he concluded – is an incentive for everyone to make economic and social decisions aimed at sharing and serving those in need”.