“SOLIDARITY: We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that if you want peace, work for justice.1 The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.” – The Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching
For the Catholic Church, the idea of community and unity, or solidarity, are of utmost importance. This characteristic of the Church is defined in practice by encouraging the church to be a people who aspire to act as “peacemakers” when they go out into society, “promoting peace” despite “racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences.” To be Catholic for them means to be set apart in heart by being someone who pursues justice when others don’t, but using that justice to mend relationships between brothers and sisters and strengthen the ties between God’s children. Franz-Josef Eilers says, “an openness with God leads also to a greater openness for others, their concerns, needs and expectations.” Catholics value, as part of their solidarity, what actions will bring them closer together; in this case it may be confession, prayer, and honoring the Sabbath by going to Church on Sundays with one another. When people are gathered in a holy place, such as in this image below, there is an expectation set that the people come in peace, just as the saying goes to greet a brother in church, “peace be with you.” There is sanctity in the church body that is felt when solidarity is of utmost importance.
In most Roman Catholic churches, confession boxes can be found, such as this one, that consist of a seat for the priest and the individual confessing. There is a curtain drawn to maintain secrecy between the individual and the outside. There is also a screen that can be found between the priest and the individual. This value of the practice of confession is another way in which the individual is able to seek peace; they are able to connect with a priest interpersonally through this act of confessing sins in a private, personal meeting with them two and God before them. Scripture commands its followers to “go and make peace” with brothers and sisters by confessing their sins before leaving gifts at the altar. This act of confession is just one more way for the Catholic family to continue to seek unity with one another, after having perhaps wronged each other, but again, seeking that “openness” of communication that Eilers described.
Spadaro says that the familial body of Catholics has to be more than just that we might compare to a network one would see online. He warns, “the liturgy always “works” on the body, organizing the spheres of emotions, of sensibility, of actions, in such a way that these spheres will be the presence of the sacred, of the mystery of Christ.” This idea contributes to the superstition against how interaction with the media may deteriorate what the Church has built up and established. While Catholics now exist in a digital, touch-screen world that may separate them from the reality that’s in front of them, it is imminent that they do not lose sight of what practices bring them together and promote solidarity face-to-face.
Sources:
Eilers, Franz-Josef. “The Communication Formation of Church Leaders as a Holistic Concern.”
Spadaro, Antonio. “Liturgy, Sacraments, and Virtual Presence.”
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