On July 7, Pope Francis spoke in Trieste, Italy about the “crisis of democracy.” “It is clear that in today’s world, democracy—let’s be honest—is not in good health,” he declared. He said that this “crisis” afflicts many countries but did not specify which ones. “The good of humankind is at stake, and nothing that is human can be unrelated to us.”
He delivered this speech for the end of the Social Week of Italian Catholics, a series of events focused on social issues. At 87 years old, he continues to travel around northern Italy but has not gone on a long trip abroad in nearly a year.
“Indifference is a cancer of democracy”
In checking the pulse on democracy in the midst of a major global election year—from the European Union parliament to the United States presidency—one of the pope’s key concerns is lack of participation.
“Indifference is a cancer of democracy,” Francis told the crowd of about 1,200 people, regarding low voter turnout: “What is behind this distancing from social reality?”
In the past decade, overall EU voter participation has risen, but Italy’s voter turnout dropped by almost 10% as compared to the 2014 election.
Meanwhile in the United States, the number of voters for presidential elections has risen in recent years, with 2020 showing the highest turnout rate in decades. Voters were highly motivated to go to the polls in the first contentious election of Biden versus Trump, and this year’s turnout is also expected to draw large numbers. Americans deeply feel the effects of the last few presidencies, from Supreme Court justice nominations to the geopolitical sphere, and want to make their voices heard. At the same time, Americans report having little confidence in either candidate. Americans are willing to vote for their president, but they may feel that their vote is not representative of what they truly want.
And though voters show up for presidential elections, turnout for local elections remains consistently low, despite these elections also holding weight in day-to-day lives. Perhaps Americans are worn out by the seemingly never-ending election season, or perhaps Americans are losing faith in the significance of this form of civic engagement.
“The Common Good”
In the face of this disillusionment, the pope highlights that democracy does not merely involve going to the polls, but also “demands that we create the conditions for everyone to express themselves and to participate.” Democratic participation is learned as a child, he said, and must be “trained even to a critical sense against ideological and populist temptations.” He warned against “seductive” ideologies that lead to self-denial.
These cautionary words come about a month after populist right parties gained big in European Union elections, and days after the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called for vigilance against “the vilification of the other,” in particular regarding narratives about migrants and asylum. This harmful rhetoric is heard across both Europe and the United States, including from the mouths of presidential nominees.
The pope compared democracy’s current crisis to a “wounded heart” harmed by different forms of exclusion. “Whenever someone is marginalized, the whole social body suffers.” He called out the “social hypocrisy” of forms of welfare and social assistance that “do not recognize the dignity of people.”
He suggested that political participation requires individuals not to consider only “myself, my clan, my family, my friends,” but “to think of oneself as a people.”
This holistic view of civic engagement encompasses the work of organizations like Rise that aim to empower individuals and groups to create change from the ground up. The Pope suggests that we do not need to wait for or rely on politicians to initiate this work—in a democracy, the people should hold the power, and we are obligated to use this power to take care of each other.
“Let us not be deceived by easy solutions. Let us instead be passionate about the common good.”
