In recent months, my travels to visit the Friars have taken me to countries where freedom of expression is in tatters, stifled by authoritarian governments. I felt a sort of palpable oppression, a pall that makes everything grey and plastered. Control stratagems, such as the closure of social media and rapid communication platforms, have taken me back to a time when the network did not exist, making me reflect on how impossible it can seem to live without these tools in our current reality. At the same time, constant monitoring through cameras and other forms of surveillance creates a sense of vulnerability: you know that you are being watched, and your every movement is being tracked. It’s not pleasant, and it makes you feel trapped.
I realised that freedom is never taken for granted and that the lack of it becomes palpable, influencing moods, even while walking down the street. Freedom is a powerful and increasingly threatened word, often sacrificed in the name of security, the economic interests of a few and geopolitical pressures. We are required to give pieces of ourselves to very small oligarchies. But what is freedom really?
The Franciscan tradition teaches us that freedom is closely linked to love. It is only those who love who are truly free. This combination of love and freedom does not mean giving vent to every impulse or desire. For St. Francis, we are free because we are liberated; we can love authentically only if we allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit of the Lord, who educates us in true love. This love is what gives us life and pushes us to reflect on our true good.
In celebrating the Year of St. Francis, we are offered the opportunity to receive the gift of the Indulgence. Among the conditions proposed, there is affective detachment from sin, a true “freedom” capable of making us love. However, this involves an active commitment to recognising the snares that prevent our hearts and minds from orienting themselves toward a good that transcends our selfishness.
Let us not forget that this is not just an individual path, but a social and community responsibility. The lack of freedom affects us all, even in countries that consider themselves democratic. The situation is alarming, and the Franciscan message of freedom through love is more relevant than ever.
The Year of St. Francis can become an opportunity for a step forward. Let us not live it only in external gestures but let us allow the light of the freedom that loves to shine through acts of solidarity and authentic encounters, especially with those who are poor and marginalised.
According to some ancient Christian thinkers, freedom is the seal of God’s image in us. We cannot, therefore, exempt ourselves, as citizens and believers, from the active commitment to support in all its forms that freedom which promotes the dignity and future of the human person.
