Special
‘Fratelli tutti’
Pope Francis issues social encyclical calling people to care for one another as brothers and sisters
Guest Columnist Father P.J. Madden
In 1999, St. John Paul II wrote an exhortation (uplifting letter) to American Catholics, on the eve of the Third Millennium, challenging us to be evangelizers to the whole world! He concluded with a beautiful prayer which included the words “Grant us to be faithful witnesses to your resurrection for the younger generation of Americans. Only then will they know that they are brothers and sisters of all God’s children scattered throughout the world.” This is the core message of Fratelli tutti: Pope Francis is calling on Christians of all nations to make that prayer a reality in our daily lives; to show that we genuinely see others, near and far, as being loved by God just as we are, without distinction of creed or color; all destined for eternal life in glory with our risen Savior. As I write this final article on this beautiful encyclical (teaching letter of Pope Francis) this sense of family is being demonstrated in a practical manner in Florida. There we see
solidarity in action, as local people are supported by others from the United States, Mexico and Israel, in the sad task of recovering bodies from the ruins of the apartment complex in Surfside. As the work progresses there are people in constant prayer around the site, supporting the devastated families who lost loved ones in that tragedy. They are living proof of what Pope Francis wants us to accept and act on: We are born to lift each other up, not put each other down! As in all human families we can differ and even disagree, but ultimately we are all united in love, a love shown in its fullness by the crucifixion of Christ, Son of Mary, who made the ultimate sacrifice and went, willingly, to his death that we all might live in harmony, respecting differences but always sensitive to the innate human dignity of every human being made in the image and likeness of God our Father! In the foreword to Fratelli tutti (a phrase from St. Francis of Assisi, meaning brothers and sisters all!), Pope Francis says “It is my desire that, in this our time (my emphasis), by acknowledging the dignity of each human person, we can contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity. Brotherhood between all men and women” (par. 8). Note the immediacy of the phrase “in our time.” We are called to action, not further talk about it! It is worth noting that Jesus, in sending the Apostles out, two by two, did not send them to seminars or college
18 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • August 2021
for degrees; he just said “Go, make them my disciples!” And the hallmark of discipleship is how we love one another. Throughout the encyclical he continuously demonstrated that we have two simple challenges and choices: Divide or unite as a people who, for a very brief time, inherit this wonder filled world and all the gifts Our Heavenly Father gives us; to be stewards of his creation, adding our little bit of goodness and eliminating a little of the evil that pervades our modern, post Christian, consumerist, hedonistic, individualist society! Pope Francis is very specific in his teaching that we must respect the innate human dignity of each human being, created in the image and likeness of God, and therefore we must oppose the death penalty with as much conviction as we oppose abortion, since both take away a life made in God’s image. Enlarging this basic Christian principle, he calls on us to oppose war, since, as was also stated by St. John Paul II, war only leads to more war, and endless loss of life and destruction of communities. We have evidence of that even now in such places as Ethiopia and Yemen, to name but two examples. In opening this series of reflections on this uplifting and challenging encyclical, I invited readers to also read an earlier exhortation from Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel, as it provides context for this letter. Our Holy Father is a man of hope in all he does and says, and
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