ON OCT. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis released a new encyclical titled “Fratelli Tutti,” which means “All brothers,” from the Admonitions of St. Francis. The letter, written to all people of goodwill, is an invitation for dialogue.
Below is a compilation of tips, tidbits and takeaways to start breaking open the document. This is not meant to be a comprehensive summary, rather a sampling of insights to get readers excited about what’s inside. The full 92-page document on fraternity and social friendship is available by visiting the Vatican’s website, www.vatican.va.
TIPS
- GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO READ THIS DOCUMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY. Read it more than once but not all at once. Take notes, discuss it with friends, study it with peers.
- USE THE FOOTNOTES – ALL 288 OF THEM! Pope Francis references not only his own previous writings but everything from Aquinas to apostolic exhortations to TED talks.
- GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR INNER GOOD SAMARITAN. Pope Francis weaves threads of this parable throughout the document. Who are you in the story? Who do you want to be? How can you be the Good Samaritan today?
- PRAY THE PRAYERS. The encyclical concludes with two prayers (see end of this document or p. 15 of the magazine).
TIDBITS
- POPE FRANCIS CATCHES US UP ON THE LATEST TRENDS. From politics and pandemics to wars and disasters, he addresses it all. How do these movements help or hinder fraternity and social friendship?
- DREAM. The Holy Father wants us to dream of fraternity between all men and women. “‘Here we have a splendid secret that shows us how to dream and to turn our life into a wonderful adventure. No one can face life in isolation. … We need a community that supports and helps us, in which we can help one another to keep looking ahead. How important it is to dream together. … By ourselves, we risk seeing mirages, things that are not there. Dreams, on the other hand, are built together.’ Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travelers 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” (8).
- FORGIVE BUT DON’T FORGET. Though contrary to the old adage to “forgive and forget,” Pope Francis says, “Forgiving does not mean forgetting. Or better, in the face of a reality that can in no way be denied, relativized or concealed, forgiveness is still possible. In the face of an action that can never be tolerated, justified or excused, we can still forgive. In the face of something that cannot be forgotten for any reason, we can still forgive. Free and heartfelt forgiveness is something noble, a reflection of God’s own infinite ability to forgive. If forgiveness is gratuitous, then it can be shown even to someone who resists repentance and is unable to beg pardon. Those who truly forgive do not forget. Instead, they choose not to yield to the same destructive force that caused them so much suffering. They break the vicious circle; they halt the advance of the forces of destruction” (250-251).
- SET GOALS. “Men and women are capable of coming up with shared goals that transcend their differences and can thus engage in a common endeavor” (157).
TAKEAWAYS:
Social and Political Charity
“Love of neighbor is concrete and squanders none of the resources needed to bring about historical change that can benefit the poor and disadvantaged” (165).
This quote from “Fratelli Tutti” sums up the many connections that Pope Francis makes throughout the encyclical between our global view of politics and our Christian call to charity. Not only does he challenge a distorted view and practice of politics for self-serving purposes — both of individuals and individual nations trending towards dangerous nationalism — he invites every person to take up their involvement in seeking the common good.
Critical in this global pandemic, as well as relevant for our local Church in the U.S. as we journey through this contentious election season, this challenge is a reiteration of centuries of Catholic social teaching. But the unique place that Pope Francis gives to his challenge of politics alongside charity is a fresh picture. Individual acts of charity, institutional efforts of social justice and joint political involvement at all levels, by all peoples and within all nations, require a combining of resources on behalf not of any self-serving agenda, but on behalf of the long-term benefit of the poor and disadvantaged. This “demands a decisive commitment. … Any effort along these lines becomes a noble exercise of charity. For whereas individuals can help others in need, when they join together in initiating social processes of fraternity and justice for all, they enter the ‘field of charity at its most vast, namely political charity’” (180).
Throughout “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis urges us to see that we cannot come out of this time the same; we will either come out better or worse. Yet, he reminds us that “Charity, with its impulse to universality, is capable of building a new world” (183). May we come out better!
KATERI MANCINI
Director of social concerns, Catholic Charities St. Cloud
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Loving Embrace/Welcome of Neighbor
“Love does not care if a brother or sister in need comes from one place or another” (62).
Pope Francis, not only in his words, but in his actions, draws attention to the sentiment of this quote again and again. In his opening statement, he clearly marks his inspiration from St. Francis of Assisi and the desire to love: “Saint Francis expressed the essence of fraternal openness that allows us to acknowledge, appreciate and love each person, regardless of physical proximity, regardless of where he or she was born or lives” (1).
When we ask ourselves, “Who is my neighbor?” the Holy Father helps us understand that no borders, no religion, no walls, no political viewpoint prevents us from being neighbor to all of humanity. He recalls his conversations with Bartholomew, the Orthodox Patriarch, and Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb and how “God has created all human beings equal in rights, duties and dignity, and has called them to live together as brothers and sisters” (“Fratelli Tutti,” 5; Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together). Through their example of openness, these three religious leaders show us a path forward and how to love our neighbor. Pope Francis continues by laying out the parable of the Good Samaritan and, in his summary, he points us to the giving of our time to build relationships: “Without even knowing the injured man, he saw him as deserving of his time and attention” (64).
“Fratelli Tutti” is clearly built upon these three inspirations: St. Francis of Assisi, the dialogue with Bartholomew and the Grand Imam and the parable of the Good Samaritan. As you read this encyclical, open yourself to see the words through these three lenses, and the other elements of the document will find their way to your heart. Then, look to your left and to your right and ask, “How can I lovingly embrace my neighbor?”
AARON CARPENTER
Director of the diocesan Office of Worship
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Solidarity and Education
“Teachers, who have the challenging task of training children and youth in schools or other settings, should be conscious that their responsibility extends also to the moral, spiritual and social aspects of life. The values of freedom, mutual respect and solidarity can be handed on from a tender age…” (114).
Following World War II, education has often been viewed as the most important broker of conflict resolution and peacemaking. More people receive a formal education today than at any other point in history. At the same time, the curriculum for most does not provide an encounter with the intellectual, physical and spiritual realities of human life. Education is too often the distance between two points: childhood and adulthood, the home and the workplace. If children are our future, how does their education prepare them to be full humans who are able to meet that future?
Pope Francis reminds us that true education forms the whole person, and the values of our faith are not abstract exercises. They are “lived out” and “handed on” by parents and teachers alike, at every stage of life (114). Through honest encounter, especially with those who experience poverty, inequality, discrimination, denial of human rights and dignity, we learn to see that our own freedom is powerfully shared in choosing to love, uplift and empower others. “Solidarity, understood in its most profound meaning, is a way of making history.” (116). Many say that we learn from history. In “Fratelli Tutti,” Francis reminds us that we also write it.
DAVID FREMO
Director of Catholic Education Ministries
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Communication
“The ability to sit down and listen to others, typical of interpersonal encounters, is paradigmatic of the welcoming attitude shown by those who transcend narcissism and accept others, caring for them and welcoming them into their lives. Yet ‘today’s world is largely a deaf world. … At times, the frantic pace of the modern world prevents us from listening attentively to what another person is saying. Halfway through, we interrupt him and want to contradict what he has not even finished saying. We must not lose our ability to listen’” (48).
We are inundated every day by a constant flow of information. Digital communication — at our fingertips via cell phones and computers — is a big reason. It provides the means and freedom for us to participate in creating and sharing information, views and opinions of our choosing. While this can be a social good, too often it is just the opposite. Too often, social media only promote the illusion of true communication, as Pope Francis notes in his encyclical, while fomenting disrespect, aggression and divisiveness. Digital media lack the innate humanity of in-person communication. People say things they would never say to someone face-to-face. The current stresses over the coronavirus pandemic and our polarized politics only exacerbate the problem.
One remedy for this is to talk less and listen more — and not just with people who share our worldview. Listening is as important as speaking for true communication to take place. Listening recognizes the equal dignity of the person with whom you are engaged. It involves seeking to understand their viewpoint. It requires sincere reflection — evaluating and re-re-evaluating what we know (or what we think we know) and believe. It leads to clarity, wisdom and an “authentic fraternity” that our fractured world needs. How can we be better listeners in our in-person and digital conversations? How can we stand up for our values and the truth without tearing others down?
JOE TOWALSKI
Director of the diocesan Office of Communications and Development
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Fraternal Love and Individualism
“The human person, with his or her inalienable rights, is by nature open to relationship. Implanted deep within us is the call to transcend ourselves through an encounter with others. For this reason, “care must be taken not to fall into certain errors which can arise from a misunderstanding of the concept of human rights and from its misuse. Today there is a tendency to claim ever broader individual — I am tempted to say individualistic — rights. Underlying this is a conception of the human person as detached from all social and anthropological contexts, as if the person were a ‘monad’ (monás), increasingly unconcerned with others. … Unless the rights of each individual are harmoniously ordered to the greater good, those rights will end up being considered limitless and consequently will become a source of conflicts and violence” (111).
Human beings were not created to be alone. Our God is a God of relationship — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We were created for relationship. God recognized that from the beginning: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him” (Genesis 2:18). But creation did not stop there. The world is full of humans who are called to be in relationship with one another. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus teaches us who our neighbor is. This parable shows us how we are to be in relationship with everyone in our world.
Throughout “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis addresses the importance of fraternal love that is demonstrated by the Good Samaritan and the danger of individualism. In today’s world there is a tendency to say we do not need anyone else. We can “pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps.” We may say, “My rights are more important than what is best for the common good.” Because we were created to be in relationship with one another, there is a danger in individualism because “it makes us believe that everything consists in giving free rein to our own ambitions, as if by pursuing ever greater ambitions and creating safety nets we would somehow be serving the common good” (105).
Pope Francis issues us a challenge in “Fratelli Tutti” to expand our love of neighbor and care for others beyond our own circles; to grow beyond our own comforts, rights and liberties. Our rights and liberties need to be “directed above all to love” (103).
KRISTI BIVENS
Associate director of lay leadership formation, Diocese of St. Cloud
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In his third encyclical, Pope Francis includes the following two prayers:
A PRAYER TO THE CREATOR
Lord, Father of our human family,
you created all human beings equal in dignity:
pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit
and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter,
dialogue, justice and peace.
Move us to create healthier societies
and a more dignified world,
a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war.
May our hearts be open
to all the peoples and nations of the earth.
May we recognize the goodness and beauty
that you have sown in each of us,
and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects,
and shared dreams. Amen.
AN ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN PRAYER
O God, Trinity of love,
from the profound communion of your divine life,
pour out upon us a torrent of fraternal love.
Grant us the love reflected in the actions of Jesus,
in his family of Nazareth,
and in the early Christian community.
Grant that we Christians may live the Gospel,
discovering Christ in each human being,
recognizing him crucified
in the sufferings of the abandoned
and forgotten of our world,
and risen in each brother or sister
who makes a new start.
Come, Holy Spirit, show us your beauty,
reflected in all the peoples of the earth,
so that we may discover anew
that all are important and all are necessary,
different faces of the one humanity
that God so loves. Amen.
Feature photo: Volunteers serving Catholic Charities of San Antonio pass food supplies at the St. Stephen’s CARE Center in San Antonio May 6, 2020, to be delivered to people in need. (CNS photo/courtesy Catholic Charities of San Antonio)