SINGAPORE (UCAN): “From the dignity, unity, and equality of all persons derives, first of all, the principle of the common good to which every aspect of social life must be related if it is to attain its coolest meaning,” Pietro Cardinal Parolin the Vatican secretary of state, said during a virtual address on the opening day of International Conference of Cohesive Societies (ICCS) in Singapore.
“According to its primary and broadly accepted sense, the common good indicates the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to achieve their fulfillment more fully and more easily,” Cardinal Parolin said.
The September 6 to 8 event themed, Confident Identities, Connected Communities, was jointly organised by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies [RSIS] and Nanyang Technological University, and sponsored by Singapore’s Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth.
Some 800 participants from more than 40 countries including religious leaders, academics, civil society activists, and policymakers attended the conference which was held at the Raffles Convention Centre.
During his address, Cardinal Parolin urged everyone to join “a caravan of solidarity, a sacred pilgrimage” for achieving the common good for all.
Elaborating action points for establishing solidarity and a cohesive society, the cardinal listed six: Everyone is a promoter; build with youth leadership; commitment to creating inviting cities, which “are rich in humanity, hospitable, inviting if we are all attentive and kind to those in need and, if we are able to engage constructively and cooperatively for the benefit of everyone”; assuming responsibility for the other person’s problems; defined by closeness and generosity, and involving mutual care; a way to create history.
“Solidarity entails overcoming the damaging consequences of selfishness in order to make way for the bravery of listening gestures. In this sense, solidarity is thus a means of creating history,” he said.
According to its primary and broadly accepted sense, the common good indicates the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to achieve their fulfillment more fully and more easily
Cardinal Parolin
Cardinal Parolin noted that contemporary society is characterized by “new forms of individual insecurity and community fragmentation,” which is a result of social, cultural, demographic, and economic transformations.
This problem, he said, was intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The cardinal also said that individuals share the responsibility of initiating and generating new processes and transformations, and becoming “active participants” in the rehabilitation and support of wounded societies today.
He also acknowledged that there is a “major crisis of solidarity in our societies” adding that “our society is paying less and less attention to the dynamics of solidarity.”
In his speech, Cardinal Parolin shared his Christian viewpoint on solidarity.
The cardinal said that Christians are invited to practice solidarity as God revealed himself to them as a “God of Solidarity.”
Founded in 2019, thanks to an initiative by Singapore’s president, Halimah Yacob, the ICCS promotes interfaith and multicultural dialogue.
Yacob mooted the creation of the ICCS to showcase the city-state’s unique approach to managing communal ties with a diverse population.
He said that cohesive societies do not exist “spontaneously” but are “borne of choice and conviction.”
The Straits Times quoted her as saying, “Social cohesion is a necessary condition for our collective security. Societies cannot survive, let alone thrive, without the social glue that bonds people together.”
