Special
‘Fratelli tutti’
Pope Francis issues social encyclical calling people to care for one another as brothers and sisters
Guest Columnist Father Rusty Bruce
A major theme that our current pope has emphasized throughout his pontificate is the call to encounter. That is, looking beyond ourselves to the needs of others. This idea proposed by Pope Francis is nothing novel, as our Lord does this repeatedly in sacred Scripture. However, what Pope Francis does is simply remind the pilgrim church that what our Lord does, we, as his disciples, are also called to do. Encounter presupposes two things— the willingness to enter into genuine dialogue and friendship—the two things which are at the heart of this chapter. The Holy Father opens the sixth chapter of his encyclical, Fratelli tutti, entitled “Dialogue and Friendship in Society” by distinguishing what true dialogue is from what it is not. Pope Francis begins by stating that dialogue is the action of “Approaching, speaking, listening, looking at, coming to know and understand one another,” and trying “to find common ground” with others. He goes on to say that much of the progress in our world today is owed to the patient dialogue of individuals
who are often not given credit in our news outlets (198). The culture in which we live is ever changing, and because of this the Holy Father argues that we too must approach the reality in which we live with new and innovative ways to engage one another. Withdrawing from conflict, seeking refuge, or reacting violently to conflict are not the answers, as he points out. Instead, when faced with conflicts, the solution that Pope Francis puts forth is to enter into authentic dialogue. When speaking about dialogue the pontiff says that dialogue is not simply “parallel monologues” where people speak at each other in antagonistic tones. Nor is dialogue “the feverish exchange of opinions on social networks, frequently based on media information that is not always reliable” (200). Pope Francis explains that the majority of our media platforms today can be obstacles to dialogue rather than bridges to unity. This is due to the fact that most encourage individuals to retract deeper into their own views, interests and ideas by surrounding themselves with individuals who are like-minded. The pope insinuates that this is a dangerous practice that fuels the erroneous mentality that those who do not share the same views are flatout wrong and therefore, have nothing to offer to the discussion. He laments that rather than connecting the world, the media has been used as a weapon to divide people through manipulation by government, economic, political,
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and even religious organizations, as well as other spheres that share these forms of communication (201). While this might be the reality of some media platforms, the Holy Father encourages us that this does not and should not be the case. The pope exhorts that “the heroes of the future will be those who can break with this unhealthy mindset and determine respectfully to promote truthfulness, aside from personal interest.” He follows this exhortation by hoping that, “such heroes are quietly emerging, even now, in the midst of our society” (202). The pontiff sees that the authentic social dialogue that our society desperately needs is one that, “involves the ability to respect the other’s point of view and to admit that it may include legitimate convictions and concerns.” In order to achieve a more fruitful debate, he says that others should be able to freely articulate their positions as a means to contribute to the conversation given what they bring to the table by virtue of their own identity and experiences. Candidly, the pope comments that when we are open to genuine dialogue, we improve in our capacity to better understand the position of the other side, even if it is a stance we cannot accept as our own. Genuine dialogue makes it possible to be frank and open while trying to find a common ground. The Holy Father invites those who are willing to enter into genuine dialogue to “work and struggle together” (203). The call to enter into the
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