Lettera del Santo Padre

Last week the Pope said this about Christianity:

Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. In other words: the human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings! The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his identity and vocation. The true 'ordo amoris' that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the “Good Samaritan” (cf.Lk10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.[3]

Regardless of the context, this is a great example of how Christianity is a collective intelligence, with a unique algorithm compared to those of nation states. While the Catholic Church is very much like a state, the core of the faith is people of diverse backgrounds gathering around an ancient Jewish prophecy they believe is fulfilled in Jesus. Jews, for the most part, don't agree that Jesus of Nazarreth was the Messiah, the fulfillment of that prophecy and so left the collective, but those who stayed with the non-Jews birthed one of the largest social algorithms in the world to date.

The statement ends by referencing the parable if the Good Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans mutually hated one another because of differences in cultural focal points. Jews believed the worship of Yahweh was to take place in Jerusalem, while Samaritans believed it could take place elsewhere. In the story, a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jerico is robbed, beaten and left for dead. A Levite and a priest from Israel pass by the man or investigate him without offering assistance, but a Samaritan not only helps but takes responsibility for his recovery.

What is interesting is he doesn't do all the work himself, but relies on his network. He certainly dresses his wounds and transports him to safety, but he has other priorities and so communicates support for the man with a financial investment, even extending credit toward this objective. Upon leaving, the man was the innkeeper's responsibility, charged and credited by the Samaritan whose actions stand in contrast to the one who saw and did not care and the one who investigated, but did not act.