Editorial
In this issue of our magazine, we have chosen to make “the other” the central focus of our reflection. We are not speaking of an abstract concept or an ethereal ideal: we are speaking of the concrete other—the one we encounter in our daily lives, in history, at work, and in the vulnerability and dignity of every person.
The face of the other, with its fragility and its grandeur, challenges us, transforms us, and leads us to live in a more authentic and demanding way. Just as the sacraments are visible signs that make God’s invisibility present, so too in the other—their face, their story, their suffering, and their struggle—they become a mediation of the transcendent. Hans Urs von Balthasar reminds us that human life is a theater in which every person participates in God’s work; Romano Guardini emphasizes that every human being is a mystery deserving of respect; Emmanuel Levinas insists that the face of the other challenges us and places us before an ethical responsibility that precedes every choice; for Guillermo Rovirosa, the human face is not merely an appearance: it is the visible sign of Christ’s presence in every person. Together, these voices teach us that otherness is neither an obstacle nor an object, but a path toward God and a call to live faithfully.
God makes himself present in concrete history, in the suffering, in the struggle, and in the hope of those around us.
This perspective has profound implications.
First, it calls us to open ourselves to others, to listen, to walk alongside them, and to understand them, beyond our prejudices and certainties. Opening ourselves to others is not comfortable: it demands humility, openness, and a willingness to take risks. But it is precisely in that vulnerability that we discover the incarnate dimension of the divine: God makes himself present in concrete history, in the suffering, in the struggle, and in the hope of those around us. This suffering and hope of others become windows onto the transcendent and invite us to recognize dignity as the foundation of every human relationship.
Second, it invites us to respond with responsibility. Christian ethics is not limited to intention or isolated gestures: it implies commitment, action, and transformation. Solidarity, understood as sharing what is necessary, putting the other before ourselves, and, if necessary, giving one’s life, becomes a fundamental principle of the faith. Francis Pope reminds us that solidarity breaks through indifference and allows us to build bonds that humanize. When this solidarity is combined with political charity, it commits us to transforming unjust structures, promoting justice and dignity, and placing the poor at the center of our social action. It is not a matter of symbolic gestures, but of concrete practice that dignifies and transforms.
Ultimately, it leads us to a comprehensive conversion: epistemologically, the encounter with the other teaches us to recognize the limits of our knowledge and to reexamine our prejudices; anthropologically, it reveals human interdependence, the fragility and, at the same time, the strength found in community; spiritually, it invites us to live a faith rooted in fidelity rather than in security. A faith that translates into commitment, action, effective solidarity, and the transformation of reality. The other, in their concrete reality, ceases to be a problem or an object of charity, for they become a gateway to God, a constant call to live according to one’s own dignity.
This editorial also aims to be a reminder: our gaze toward the other defines our spirituality. We cannot separate contemplation from action, nor faith from history. Every face we encounter is an opportunity to grow in humanity, to assume our ethical responsibility, to exercise solidarity, and to experience God’s presence in daily life. May this issue of the magazine help us to see the other as a sacrament, to hear their call, to respond with commitment, and to live our faith incarnated in history, transforming our lives and the reality around us.
PHOTO: Iqbal Masih (1983–1995) A testament to authentic, solidarity-based, and militant trade unionism.
April 16: International Day Against Child Slavery.
“Tens of millions of children—did you hear that right? Tens of millions—are forced to work in degrading conditions, exposed to forms of slavery and exploitation.” Pope Francis (GENERAL AUDIENCE, June 11, 2011)
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