'BE CAREFUL HOW YOU BUILD'

Fr Billy Swan

I have just finished reading Pope Leo’s first encyclical ‘Magnifica Humanitas’. It will take some time to digest because of its depth and wisdom. Contrary to what many perceive as the encyclical being about Artificial Intelligence, the primary focus of the document is the human person as made in the image and likeness of God. It affirms the essential components of our nature, how we can coexist with one another in peace, humanity’s present and future and the driving force behind our activities.

At the very beginning of the encyclical, the Pope employs the metaphor of building to contrast two opposing ways that we humans consider to be progress. Drawing from Scripture, he contrasts the building of the Tower of Babel (cf. Gen 11:1-9) to the building of the Temple in Jerusalem as envisaged by the prophet Nehemiah (cf. Neh. 2–6). The first is a collective effort that follows a plan that dominates but ultimately dehumanises; the second is a civilisation project that leaves room for God, is an enterprise of shared responsibility and the building of a civilisation of love. Impressive is the document’s insistence that all of us are builders whether we realise it or not. We are always building our lives around something. All our activities are at the service of some project. The key difference of course is the vision we follow. It is like the builder of a house who doesn’t just randomly lay blocks. He lays blocks but in accordance with the architect’s plan. So what plan do we have when we build? In the words of Pope Leo: “The construction of Babel or the rebuilding of Jerusalem, begins within each one of us” (Magnifica Humanitas, 130).

So, what vision or plan might a modern day “Babel Builder” have? It might include a reactionary or angry desire to tear down instead of building up, to tear apart instead of bringing together. It involves the deconstruction of natural categories, the annihilation of institutions and the debunking of ancient narratives. It might also include a building plan that revolves entirely around ourselves, our own interests, our own desires and fears, with little room for the common good. In the words of ‘Magnifica Humanitas’, we “all too often, are unwitting builders and clumsy architects of this city, capable of generous gestures but lacking an overall vision” (para. 185).

In contrast, the Holy Father urges us to help build a new city of God, to be “wise architects” who are driven by hope for his Kingdom, and are committed to building the world for the common good (cf. 1 Cor 3:10). The task of building in our time must place our relationship with God at its centre. In this task, the Holy Father asks us “to assume an active role, without taking refuge in spiritual sentimentality or retreating into our own little worlds. We must be faithful to the truth, invest in education, cultivate relationships and love justice and peace” (para. 236). Finally, he urges us not “to be passive spectators of social and cultural fractures, nor mere commentators on what is crumbling, but men and women prepared to enter the construction sites of history — research laboratories, technology companies, schools, the media, institutions and local communities — in order to rebuild what has collapsed and protect what is threatened” (para. 241). With this encouragement, Leo is urging us to engage with modern culture, to claim it for Christ and to be a leaven of God’s kingdom in the world that belongs to Him.

The encyclical concludes with a quote from St Paul to the Corinthians: “Let each builder choose with care how to build” (1 Cor. 3:10). In a synodal Church of communion, participation and mission, the metaphor of building, used masterfully in this encyclical, reminds us of the part we play in building up the Church, guided by the vision of the Gospel and how our contributions build up the civilisation of love for which we are made.