♰「『死』を忘れる文化は、枯れて、死ぬ」-世界若者会議へ教皇がビデオメッセージ

(2019.10.31 VaticanNews Devin Watkins)

 教皇フランシスコは31日、メキシコ・シティで開かれたScholas Occurrentes(教皇が設立した世界教育ネットワーク)と World ORT(ユダヤ的価値観の教育ネットワーク)共催の第四回世界若者会議に参加した若者たちに、ビデオメッセージを送られた。

 この中で、死について取り上げられた教皇は、「死の問題は、実際は命に関する問題です… 一見して矛盾しているように思われるこの意味は、実は極めてはっきりしています-命を生き続けさせるのは死なのです!」と繰り返された。

「終わりと目標」

 教皇はスペイン語で語られたメッセージで、ロマンス諸語ラテン語の口語である俗ラテン語に起源をもつ諸言語)で見られる用語の類似性(el final: the [temporal] end vs. el fin: the aim or end goal)を取り上げ、「『最終目標』は、物語を書いたり絵を描いたりすることを可能にするもの… それぞれの言葉の終わりや沈黙の終わりのように『日常生活の小さな目標』に注意を払うように…『この瞬間は終わる(注:永遠ではない)』ということを意識している人生だけが、それを永遠なものにするのです」と説かれた。

 さらに、「『死』は、私たちの『全能性の幻想』を消し去り、人生の謎に取り組むことを教えてくれます… それによって、『虚空に飛び込んでも、落ちず、沈まず、私たちを捕まえてくれる誰かがいつもいること』を認識する自信が得られます。終る前も終わった後もです」「私たちの人生の『終わり』を知らないことは、私たちにはかなさを感じるようにさせますが、他の人の話を聞いたり、一緒に何かを作ったりすることに私たちの心を開いてくれもします」と語られた。

「太陽の下に新しいものはない」

 続いて教皇は、現代の人間社会の特質に関心を向け、「世界は既に形成されており、全てが既に説明されている… 社会は完全に形成され、明確に定義されている、と考え、疑問をそのままにしておくことを拒否します… そして、自立、自己充足、自己実現を崇拝する世界で、それ以外の(注:それを崇拝しない)人々の場所は無いように見えます」と指摘。

 さらに「私たちの世界は、中断が許されないほどのペースで加速しているように見え、私たちを奴隷にし、「『結局は終わりがあること』の意味を忘れるように麻酔にかけます」「死を忘却することは、死の始まりでもあります… 死を忘れる文化は、枯れて死ぬ。 死を忘れる人は、既に死に始めているのです」とされた。

「互いのために死ぬこと」

 最後に、教皇は、死の問題に立ち向かう勇気を持つ、会議に参加した学生に感謝を述べ、「私たちを命で満たす死は三つあります… 瞬間・瞬間の死。自我の死。新しい世界に道を譲る、一つの世界の死です」とされ、「覚えておいてください。死が遺言を残さないとすれば、それは、私たちが人生において、互いのために死ぬことを学んだからです」と諭された。

(翻訳「カトリック・あい」南條俊二)

(バチカン・ラジオの英語翻訳版は以下の通り)

A Vatican Radio English-language translation is below:

Dear young people of Scholas Occurrentes gathered from so many nations of the world, I celebrate with you the end of this meeting. I want to stop there. I wish to dwell on this: the end.

What would become of this encounter if it did not have an end? Perhaps it wouldn’t even be an encounter. And what would become of this life if it did not also have its end?

I know some will say: “Father, don’t put on a funeral face.” But let us think this through. I know from a good source that you kept the question of death burning throughout this entire experience. You played, thought, and created out of your differences.

Good! I celebrate and thank you for this. Because, you know what? The question of death is really a question about life. And keeping the question of death open, perhaps, is the greatest human responsibility towards the question of life.

Just as words are born out of silence and return to it, allowing us to hear their meanings, so it is with life. This may sound somewhat paradoxical, but… It is death that allows life to remain alive!

It is the end goal that allows a story to be written, a painting to be painted, two bodies to embraced. But watch out, the end goal is not found only at the end. Perhaps we should pay attention to each small purpose of everyday life. Not only at the end of the story – we never know when it ends – but at the end of each word, at the end of each silence, of each page that is being written. Only a life that is conscious of the fact that this exact instant will end works to make it eternal.

On the other hand, death reminds us that it is impossible to be, understand, and encompass everything. It comes as a slap in the face to our illusion of omnipotence. It teaches us throughout life to engage ourselves with mystery. This gives us confidence to jump into the void and to realize that we will not fall, that we will not sink, and that there is always Someone there to catch us. Both before and after the end.

The “not knowing” part of this question results in fragility that opens us to listening to and meeting other people. It is that rising above the commotion that calls us to create something, and urges us to come together to celebrate it.

Lastly, the question of death has driven different communities, peoples, and cultures to be formed throughout the ages and throughout all lands. These are stories that have fought in so many places to stay alive, while others were never born. That is why today, perhaps as never before, we should touch on this question.

The world is already formed, and everything is already explained. There is no room for open questions. Is that true? It is true, but it is also not true. That is our world. It is already fully-formed, and there is no place for unanswered questions. In a world that worships autonomy, self-sufficiency, and self-realization, there seems to be no place for the other. Our world of plans and infinite acceleration – always speeding up – does not allow for interruptions. So the worldly culture that enslaves also tries to put us to sleep so we forget what it means to stop at last.

But the very oblivion of death is also its beginning. And a culture that forgets death begins to die within. He who forgets death has already begun to die.

That is why I thank you so much! Because you have had the courage to confront this question and to pass – with your own bodies – through the three deaths that, by emptying us, fill us with life! The ‘death’ of every instant. The death of the ego. The death of one world gives way to a new one.

Remember, if death is not to have the last word, it is because in life we learned to die for one another.

Finally, I would like to thank especially World ORT and each one of the people and institutions that made possible this activity in which the culture of encounter has become tangible.

I ask each of you please, each in his own way, each according to his own convictions: don’t forget to pray for me. Thank you.

 

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2019年11月1日