Fratelli Tutti is not a singular element in the magisterium of the Argentine pontiff, but rather the ripe fruit of a long journey. “Issues of human fraternity and social friendship have always been a concern of mine... In this Encyclical, I have sought to bring together many of those statements and to situate them in a broader context of reflection,” the Pope begins.
In this case, the fundamental text for understanding the new encyclical and its scope is the "Document on Human Brotherhood for World Peace and Common Coexistence" that the Holy Father signed from Abu Dhabi with the Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, in 2019, in what he himself defines “no mere diplomatic act, but a reflection born of dialogue and common commitment.”
In a world marked by many problems and contradictions - shattered dreams and abandoned projects, a throwaway culture, lack of respect for Human Rights, illusory communication ... - the scourge of the pandemic was suddenly added, which made clear “the inability to act together.”
But the Pope's gaze does not stop only at “dark clouds”. The way out is there and passes through the path of compassion and mercy, passes through the example of the Good Samaritan, who “surely had his plans that day ... but he was able to put everything aside in front of that wounded man, and without knowing him he considered him worthy of receiving the gift of his time.”
Just as the protagonist of the parable, a Samaritan, did not take notice or care about the differences between himself and the victim, a Jew, so too today the Pope invites everyone to broaden their horizons, “giving our capacity to love a universal dimension.”
The Pope’s invitation, therefore, is for each of us to our part: “We must not expect everything from those who govern us, it would be childish”; to build an open world marked by brotherhood it is necessary “to start from the bottom and case by case, to fight for what is more concrete and local”, aware that “there is a basic recognition to be made in order to walk towards social friendship and universal fraternity: to realize how much a human being is worth, how much a person is worth, always and in any circumstance.”
The papal encyclical Brothers All stands as a roadmap towards dialogue between peoples and mercy between individuals, to build a culture of universal brotherhood among men.
The full text of the encyclical is available in various languages on the Vatican website.
