Why Francis’ focus is on our families

No one knows for sure just how many people squeezed themselves into the University of Nairobi grounds to kneel, pray, sing and dance in the presence of one man: Pope Francis. Some say a quarter of a million, others 500,000.

Millions more watched on TV.

Nairobi was a city free of cars and diesel fumes, its streets glistening with pools of rain as people trudged miles to the venue and then back home again.

These dull November days will go down as a time that we will cherish and remember forever.Because no one who witnessed the events, either in person or on TV, could fail to be moved by the extraordinary atmosphere generated by the visit.

The music, the dancing, the relaxed mood. This could happen only in Kenya. What we are seeing over these precious few days is a meeting of two distinct cultures, two interlocking histories, two distinct mind-sets.

While Europe is providing the theology, Africa is adapting it and demonstrating to Pope Francis how it worships. But besides the pomp and ceremony there were words of wisdom too.

“The health of any society depends on the health of its families”. Simple, yet profound, but what else would you expect of this Pope?

And words of guidance: “We are called to resist practices which foster arrogance in men, hurt or demean women, and threaten the life of the innocent unborn. We are called to respect and encourage one another, and to reach out to all those in need.”

The message is implicit. He calls on us “to defend the dignity of each man and woman.” For all of us “are brothers and sisters in the one human family.”

The Pope brings with him more than the ceremony of the Church, the age-old rites of the mass. He brings with him messages of hope. He is a unifying factor and has been preaching peace and religious tolerance, which is why his visit is important to all Kenyans, not just the Catholic faithful.

For a country buffeted by wave after wave of social, political and economic challenges, Pope Francis maintained that we belong to God; “we are the Lord’s chosen, blessed.”

For the country’s despairing and unemployed youth, this is a   reassuring message.He exhorts us to beware of the “new deserts created by a culture of materialism and indifference to others.”

These are fine and noble sentiments to be sure. But do his words and actions offer anything more than comfort and a momentary sense of spiritual well-being?

How can we translate his words into our actions so that the poor will have better lives, the unemployed will find jobs, the young will grow up  with more than hope in their hearts, women will be respected, and men will behave better to them, babies will not be aborted, and so the list goes on?

The truth is our future is in our own hands, especially the youth who he challenged to help shape a new society which is “just, inclusive and respectful of human dignity.”

We may not be capable of turning the world around, but we can, by our behaviour and our resolve, turn our own lives around.

Francis, as we have noted, has identified the family as being the most important factor in our lives. Which in these days, has been accosted by challenges precipitated by modernity: education, work and technology.

Now it is for us to note well his advice and start to carry it out.