Fratelli tutti
Fratelli tutti Italian for 'All Brothers' Encyclical of Pope Francis | |
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Signature date | 3 October 2020 |
Subject | On fraternity and social friendship |
Number | 3 of 3 of the pontificate |
Text | |
AAS | 112 (11): 969-1074 |
Part of a series on |
Catholic social teaching |
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Overview |
Catholicism portal |
Fratelli tutti (All Brothers) is the third encyclical of Pope Francis, subtitled "on fraternity and social friendship"; it was released in 2020. In the document, Francis states that the way the COVID-19 pandemic was managed by world countries has shown a failure in global cooperation. The encyclical calls for more human fraternity and solidarity, and is a plea to reject wars.
The document was signed on 3 October 2020, on the occasion of Pope Francis's visit to the tomb of his namesake,
Background
Fratelli tutti is Pope Francis' third
The encyclical's title is taken from Francis of Assisi's Admonitions. Pope Francis had alluded to the same quotation on 14 May 2020, when he celebrated Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae in Vatican City:[2][3]
St Francis of Assisi used to say: "All brothers and sisters". And so, men and women of every religious confession are uniting themselves today in prayer and penance to ask for the grace of healing from this pandemic.
On 4 February 2019, Pope Francis signed the
Before the publication of the encyclical its title was criticized by
Signature and publication
Pope Francis signed Fratelli tutti on 3 October 2020 in Assisi, at the tomb of Francis of Assisi in the eponymous basilica. After celebrating Mass in front of said tomb,[7] Francis put the text of the encyclical "on the altar under the tomb of St. Francis and signed it".[8] This signature marked the first time a papal encyclical was signed outside Rome.[9][10] Francis's trip to Assisi was his first outside Rome since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic,[11][12] and his fourth visit to the city as pope.[2][12] The conservative Spanish Catholic website InfoVaticana had leaked the original Spanish version of the encyclical on the same day despite the news embargo.[13]
The text of the encyclical was officially published by the Vatican on 4 October 2020,
Inspirations
In the encyclical, Pope Francis states that his February 2019 meeting in
The notion of "neighbour" elaborated in the document is partly inspired by the interpretation of
Redaction
Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández participated in the encyclical's redaction.[23] Francis was also assisted by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the drafting of the encyclical.[22]
Language
The encyclical was written originally in Spanish,[24][25] although the title is in Italian.[26]
Content
The encyclical calls for more human fraternity and solidarity, and is a
Racism
The encyclical asserts that "
Immigration
If every human being possesses an inalienable dignity, if all people are my brothers and sisters, and if the world truly belongs to everyone, then it matters little whether my neighbour was born in my country or elsewhere.
— Fratelli tutti, §125
Francis supports the cause of
The Pope also calls for the establishment of the concept of "full citizenship" and the rejection of the discriminatory use of the expression "minorities". The pope insists that differences among people are a gift, and that the whole is more than the total of its single parts. He furthermore states that other cultures "are not 'enemies' from which we need to protect ourselves".[20]
Interreligious relations
The encyclical is inspired by the Abu Dhabi declaration.[28] In the encyclical, Pope Francis states the Abu Dhabi declaration "was no mere diplomatic gesture, but a reflection born of dialogue and common commitment".[15] Fratelli tutti says: "we, the believers of the different religions, know that our witness to God benefits our societies" and "We Christians ask that, in those countries where we are a minority, we be guaranteed freedom, even as we ourselves promote that freedom for non-Christians in places where they are a minority".[28]
Francis considers interreligious dialogue as a way to bring "friendship, peace and harmony", adding that without "openness to the Father of all", fraternity cannot be achieved. He adds that the foundation of modern totalitarianism is the "denial of the transcendent dignity of the human person" and that violence "has no basis in religious convictions, but rather in their deformities". According to him, however, dialogue does not involve reducing or hiding one's deepest convictions, and sincere and humble adoration of God promotes the sanctity of life.[20]
Good Samaritan
Pope Francis reflects upon the
In the same section, Pope Francis also criticises those who believe that worshipping God is enough and are untrue to what their faith demands of them. Also, Francis points at those who "manipulate and cheat society" and "live off" welfare. He also emphasizes the importance of recognising Jesus Christ in those who are abandoned or excluded and adds he "sometimes wonder[s] why it took so long for the Church unequivocally to condemn slavery and various forms of violence".[20]
Universal fraternity
It is my desire that, in this our time, by acknowledging the dignity of each human person, we can contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity. Fraternity between all men and women. [...] Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travellers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all.
— Fratelli tutti, §8
In the encyclical, Francis writes that the sense of global kinship is disappearing, and that the quest for justice and peace is being replaced by a "globalized indifference".[20]
In Fratelli tutti, Francis states that universal brotherhood is possible, but requires "a decisive commitment to devising effective means to this end" (§ 180). Furthermore, he states that
"Liberty, equality and fraternity"
In the encyclical Francis uses the expression "liberty, equality, and fraternity" without explicitly referencing
Dignity of women
In the encyclical, Pope Francis strives to ensure the situation of women globally is taken more into account; he also stated: "The organization of societies worldwide is still far from reflecting clearly that women possess the same dignity and identical rights as men".[28]
Capital punishment and life imprisonment
Pope Francis
International politics
In the encyclical, Pope Francis states the way the COVID-19 pandemic was managed by world countries has shown a failure in global cooperation.[35] In the encyclical, he calls for the development of a mid- to long-term "form of global governance" which would have the means to provide "effective assistance for integrating migrants in their receiving countries, while also promoting the development of their countries of origin through policies inspired by solidarity, yet not linking assistance to ideological strategies and practices alien or contrary to the cultures of the peoples being assisted".[15]
Francis also calls for a reform of the United Nations to prevent it from being "delegitimized".[15]
Francis criticizes "certain
Economy
Francis warns against selfishness in the economy, and against financial speculation which "continues to wreak havoc". For the Pope, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that "not everything can be resolved by market freedom" and that human dignity must be put "back at the center".[20] The Pope considers that a good economic policy is one which creates jobs, not one which removes them.[36] He denounces the "dogma" of neoliberalism that the market by itself can resolve any problem, a dogma which repeatedly "resort[s] to the magic theories of 'spillover' or 'trickle'" to solve any societal problem.[36][37]
Private property
Fratelli tutti accepts the right to property, but states that this right "can only be considered a secondary natural right" when compared to human dignity. Francis attempts to reorient the right to property as a responsibility for the care of the whole planet: "All this brings out the positive meaning of the right to property: I care for and cultivate something that I possess, in such a way that it can contribute to the good of all".[28] He also urges that the "right to private property" be accompanied by the "prior principle" of "subordination of all private property to the universal destination of the earth's goods, and thus the right of all to their use".[20]
War
With the money spent on weapons and other military expenditures, let us establish a global fund that can finally put an end to hunger and favour development in the most impoverished countries, so that their citizens will not resort to violent or illusory solutions, or have to leave their countries in order to seek a more dignified life.
— Fratelli tutti, §262
Francis says that wars can no longer be considered justifiable, as the risks of war exceed any supposed benefits.[20] He believes that "it is very difficult nowadays to invoke the rational criteria elaborated in earlier centuries to speak of the possibility of a 'just war'";[15][20] Francis adds that Augustine of Hippo, "who forged a concept of 'just war' that we no longer uphold in our own day, also said that 'it is a higher glory still to stay war itself with a word, than to slay men with the sword, and to procure or maintain peace by peace, not by war'".[15] Francis speaks of the right to defense by means of military force as a "potential right".[21] War, nuclear weapons and terrorism are all denounced as misguided substitutes for dialogue and as means to primarily further national agendas.[28]
Conclusion prayers
The encyclical ends with two prayers: one to the Creator that addresses God as Father, and an ecumenical Christian prayer that addresses God as the Holy Trinity.[15]
Reception
Politicians
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a Belarusian politician exiled after the 2020 presidential election, responded to the encyclical with a letter, Fraternal Society: A Vision For a New Belarus. In the letter, Tsikhanouskaya noted that "a new political community" was born in Belarus out of "the desire for unity and solidarity" as a reaction to disenfranchising citizens during the post-Soviet decades of authoritarian presidency. Reflecting on the election, she referred to the Good Samaritan parable central to encyclical, comparing the Belarusian people to the robbed and wounded traveller. She praised the laity and clergy of Belarusian churches who answered with "prayer, mercy, and the raising of their voices against violence and lawlessness". In her conclusion, Tsikhanouskaya challenged the Pope for guidance for the peaceful protesters facing continuous violence from the government.[38]
Journalists
Our Sunday Visitor describes the encyclical as "a papal plea to care for our fellow man", in the same way as the previous encyclical Laudato si' is "a papal plea to care for our common home".[17]
According to Eduardo Campos Lima of Crux, many Brazilians were surprised and delighted by the use of Pope Francis of a quote from the song Samba da Benção of Vinicius de Moraes in the encyclical.[40]
Catholic Church
The head of the Jesuit Institute School of Spirituality in South Africa, Catholic laywoman Dr. Annemarie Paulin-Campbell,[41][42] criticizes the content of the encyclical, its title which she believes made it difficult for woman to feel included (although, she says, "'Fratelli' is meant to communicate brothers and sisters or siblings"), and its frequent use of the word "fraternity" which she says "carries strongly masculine connotations". She stated that the encyclical addressed many social issues, but did not address problems which particularly concern women, such as "gender-based violence" and she said that the Catholic Church "does not accord women the same dignity and identical rights as men". Nevertheless, she said that despite her "critique of 'Fratelli Tutti' in relation to women, it is well worth reading because it gives a sense of the many areas in which we are struggling in contemporary society".[43]
Fr.
Thomas Petri, dean of the
Bishop
On 1 December 2020, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD), with the help of the Dicastery for Communication, has released a section of the DPIHD's website dedicated to the encyclical.[47]
Other religions
Freemasons
Through its communication organ El Oriente, the
The Grand Orient of Italy wrote in its official magazine Erasmo to praise the encyclical, saying the "idea of universal brotherhood as a bond that unites all human beings, regardless of their faith, ideology, color, skin, social background, language, culture and nation" expressed in the Fratelli tutti are "close to the ideals that have been the very foundations of Freemasonry from the very beginning".[54][55]
Legacy
Pope Francis participated in a virtual observance of the
On 20 May 2021, the Fratelli Tutti Political School was created. This school is an
On 21 October 2021, the Fratelli tutti foundation was created. The foundation aims to promote justice, solidarity and the common good.[59]
In July 2022,
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As I was writing this letter, the Covid-19 pandemic unexpectedly erupted, exposing our false securities. Aside from the different ways that various countries responded to the crisis, their inability to work together became quite evident.
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Nella sua ultima enciclica "Fratelli tutti", pubblicata il 3 ottobre, Papa Francesco ha espresso apertis verbis in chiave assolutamente inedita un'idea di fratellanza universale, come legame che unisce tutti gli esseri umani, al di là della loro fede, ideologia, colore della pelle, estrazione sociale, lingua, cultura e nazione. Si tratta di un pensiero che è vicino agli ideali che costituiscono fin dalle origini le fondamenta stesse della Massoneria. Da oltre 300 anni il principio di Fratellanza è scritto in maniera indelebile nel trinomio massonico posto all'Oriente nei templi insieme a quelli di Libertà e Uguaglianza. E la realizzazione di una Fratellanza universale, è dalle origini la grande missione e il grande sogno della Libera Muratoria. E lo hanno sottolineato nei loro commenti alcuni filosofi, giornalisti e anche qualche alto prelato di Santa Roma Chiesa, esprimendosi senza riserve nei confronti del messaggio venuto fuori dall'Enciclica Bergogliana
- ^ "Pope Francis and Grand Imam Al-Tayyeb celebrate first-ever International Day of Human Fraternity". America Magazine. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "UN declares 4 February 'International Day of Human Fraternity'". Vatican News. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Pope launches virtual 'Fratelli Tutti' school saying priests shouldn't bless weapons". Crux. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ ""Fratelli tutti" Foundation launched in the Vatican". Vatican News. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
- ^ "Vaticano. Al via la mostra "Friendly Taiwan meets Fratelli tutti"". www.avvenire.it (in Italian). 2 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ "Vaticano: al via la mostra "Friendly Taiwan meets Fratelli Tutti" | AgenSIR". SIR - Servizio Informazione Religiosa (in Italian). 2 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
Further reading
- Piro, Isabella (4 October 2020). ""Fratelli tutti": short summary of Pope Francis's Social Encyclical". Vatican News. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- Piro, Isabella (4 October 2020). ""Fratelli tutti": long summary of Pope Francis's Social Encyclical". Vatican News. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- Reis, Bernadette Mary (4 October 2020). "Highlights from presentation of "Fratelli tutti"". Vatican News. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
External links
- "Fratelli tutti (3 October 2020) | Francis". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- Pope Francis (2020). "Fratres omnes" (PDF). Acta Apostolicae Sedis. 112 (11): 969–1074.
- "Visit of the Holy Father Francis to Assisi: Holy Mass and signing of the new Encyclical "All Brothers", on fraternity and social friendship". Vatican.va. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- "Conferenza sulla Lettera Enciclica "Fratelli tutti" del Santo Padre Francesco sulla fraternità e l'amicizia sociale". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ENGLISH-Video Fratelli tutti by Vatican IHD, 16 October 2020; presentation by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
- Official website of the encyclical