Berkley Center

The humanitarian system is severely challenged today. There are more displaced people today than at any time since World War II. Former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon called the situation a “monumental crisis” that will require a response based on “monumental solidarity.” Fr. David Hollenbach, S.J., argues that we need to develop much better ways of protecting the humanity of those threatened by tragedies today. The article highlights some resources found in the religious and spiritual traditions of our world for responding to this crisis situation. It gives particular attention to Christian inspiration to serve the needs of the displaced, and then it proposes some ethical perspectives that are more policy-oriented. This article in La Civiltà Cattolica originated as a paper presented at the 2017 Jesuit University Humanitarian Action Network conference at College of the Holy Cross.