Evengelise in times of crisis: Pope

Pope Francis has told participants in the international conference on the global education pact that the crisis the world is experiencing can become a propitious moment for re-evangelisation.
“An eloquent example of how to confront a crisis,” he said, was how the mythological figure Aeneas saves his father and son from the flames of his burning city.
“Aeneas saves himself, but not by himself. He brings with him his father, who represents his past, and his son, who represents the future.”
This image, noted the Pope, “can serve to illustrate the mission of educators, who are called to preserve the past and to guide the steps of the young towards the future. It can also help us to reflect on some fundamental principles of the global compact on education.”
The first of those principles said Pope Francis, is the centrality of the person.
He told those present last week that every educational process must be centered on persons and concentrate on what is essential; “everything else is secondary”.
Another essential element, highlighted the Pope, “is to invest the best energies with creativity and responsibility”.
Education, he noted “is always rooted in a past,” but it is also aimed at the future “where the old and the new come together in the composition of a new humanism.”
However, against all this, the Pope warned of a “fashion” that looks backward, that claims to be the guardian of traditions but is dead of traditions.
Another fundamental element, he underlined, “is our need to educate for service”.
“The ‘throwaway culture’ would have us believe that, as soon as something no longer functions properly, it should be thrown out and exchanged. That is what we do with consumable goods,” Pope Francis said.
“Sadly, it has also become a mindset that affects what we do with people. For example, if a marriage no longer ‘works’, you change it; if a friendship is on the rocks, you cut bait.”