I have been reflecting on remarks of Pope Francis urging ancestral cultures should be a stimulus to find new forms of dialogue, negotiation and bridges that can lead toward the way of committed solidarity. It should be a commitment to the construction of a 'political life on a truly human basis' (Gaudium et Spes, 73). In other words, it must lead to a realization that a hope-filled future is forged in a present made up of men and women who are upright, honest and capable of working for the common good.

Pope Francis had on many occasions bewailed that in this century, the 'common good' seems to be an alien thought, and that the path that is more common is the path of privileges or benefits to a few to the detriment of the good of all. And, indeed, society has become fertile ground for corruption, drug trade, violence and death; human trafficking, exclusion so that suffering and a slowdown in development results. With the current pandemic that has afflicted our country, this has become even more problematic. Should these remarks not be taken by us seriously as we hope to track a new road with elections just around the corner?