Dear Friends

The Pope’s new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, has garnered much attention since its publication; not all of it positive. In some quarters, he’s been accused of interfering in politics, meddling in the economic sphere or being naïve. The Pope is not unfamiliar with criticisms, and these comments come from the usual quarters. One thing is certain – people are reading what Francis writes, and hearing what he says. Since its release, there have been a number of articles in reputable journals commenting on the importance and worth of the Encyclical.

One writer has said of Fratelli Tutti, “Francis has issued a cri de coeur to all people of good will. It is a call to our better selves, an astute reading of the "signs of the times", and a reminder that simple virtues like love, compassion, kindness and openness to the stranger are essential ingredients to the healing of our common woes”. (Joseph Sinasac)

This Encyclical can be seen as the final instalment in Pope Francis’s communitarian trilogy:

Evengelii Gaudium – our relationship with God

Laudato Si – our relationship with Creation

Fratelli Tutti – our relationships with each other

This latest publication is a distillation of the Pope’s social thinking, so is worth reading and exploring in some detail.

While Francis starts by presenting a bleak assessment of our current world, dwelling on issues such as the ‘throw-away’ society, facile populism, xenophobia, conflict, fear, unbalanced globalisation, he moves on to present hope for a better world and solutions for our dire situation. He takes the Gospel story of the Good Samaritan as emblematic of the style of relationship that will help heal our world. He calls on people of goodwill to heed “the pleas of the stranger”, to see “neighbours without borders”. He reminds us of the reciprocal gifts that are available in dialogue and genuine encounter with others, even the most different. Naturally, he denounces conflict, violence and war and pleads for the art of forgiveness which doesn’t forget.

As he so often does, Francis challenges us to re-think some of our attitudes and world views. Addressing those who want to keep borders closed and who demonise refugees, he says: “closed groups…that define themselves in opposition to others tend to be expressions of selfishness and mere self-preservation” (89). He warns that people can develop habits that might appear as moral values, such as hard-work, sobriety, fortitude, but without charity they are just superficial. If such habits don’t foster openness and union with others, then they are only ‘apparent virtues’ not genuine ones (91). He suggests too many Christians have an inadequate understanding of universal love. “A love capable of transcending borders is the basis of what in every city and country can be called ‘social friendship’” (99).

Francis challenges us to move beyond the mere realm of ‘associates’ which he defines as partners in the pursuit of particular interests (102). The Pope proceeds to advocate for a universal love that promotes persons rather than things. This style of relating is based on an “acknowledgement of the worth of every human person, always and everywhere” (106). While conceding that some societies accept this in part, he argues that many suffer from a “skewed perspective” that sees people in terms of their utilitarian value. The dignity of every human, a theme that underpins much of Church teaching, is stressed again:

“Every human being has the right to live with dignity and to develop integrally: this fundamental right cannot be denied by any country. People have this right even if they are unproductive or were born with or developed limitations. This does not detract from their great dignity as human persons, a dignity based not on circumstances but on the intrinsic worth of their being. Unless this principle is upheld, there will be no future either for fraternity or for the survival of humanity” (107).

Such a sentiment leads naturally to promoting the moral good of every person; to do less is to undermine the very Kingdom that Jesus came to build. He states that there is an intrinsic duty in “helping individuals and societies to mature in the moral values that foster integral human development” (112). The Pope then speaks in favour of solidarity, “which finds concrete expression in service” (115), not just with and for others but also with and for creation. “When we speak of the need to care for our common home, our planet, we appeal to that spark of universal consciousness and mutual concern that may still be in people’s hearts” (117).

One of the most challenging parts of this letter is where Francis critiques our common approach to private property. He notes that “the Christian tradition has never recognised the right to private property as absolute or inviolable and has stressed the social purpose of all forms of private property” (120). He advances the argument that “the right to private property can only be considered a secondary natural right, derived from the principle of the universal destination of created goods”. One cannot read these words without feeling a little uncomfortable. This is, of course, the Pope’s intention: to disturb and provoke reflection: personal and communal. In his final words in Chapter 3, he circles back, tying together his thoughts:

“If we accept the great principle that there are rights born of our inalienable human dignity, we can rise to the challenge of envisaging a new humanity. We can aspire to a world that provides land, housing and work for all. This is the true path to peace, not the senseless and myopic strategy of sowing fear and mistrust in the face of outside threats. For a real and lasting peace (and genuine healing) will only be possible ‘on the basis of a global ethic of solidarity and cooperation in the service of a future shaped by interdependence and shared responsibility in the whole human family” (127).

In everything Pope Francis writes in this letter he circles back to his central image – we are all sisters and brothers, to each other and to all creation. We are connected. Our actions diminish one another or strengthen one another. Too often it is the former. We need to respect everyone’s unique dignity and when we do, we can change our world and form a new humanity, a new creation.

“Grant us the love reflected in the actions of Jesus,

In his family of Nazareth,

And in the early Christian community”

Amen.