() is the third encyclical of Pope Francis, subtitled "on fraternity and social friendship"; it was released in 2020. In the document, Francis states that the way the COVID-19 pandemic was managed by world countries had shown a failure in global cooperation. The encyclical calls for more human fraternity and solidarity, and is a plea to reject wars.
The document was signed on 3 October 2020, on the occasion of Pope Francis's visit to the tomb of his namesake, Francis of Assisi, and was published the following day on the saint's feast day.
Background Fratelli tutti is Pope Francis' third encyclical letter, after Lumen fidei and Laudato si'. The document was first announced on 5 September 2020.
The encyclical's title is taken from Francis of Assisi's Admonitions. Pope Francis had alluded to the same quotation on 14 May 2020, when he celebrated Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae in Vatican City:
On 4 February 2019, Pope Francis signed the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together while on an apostolic journey to the United Arab Emirates. Co-signing the document was the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb.
Before the publication of the encyclical its title was criticized by Father Thomas J. Reese , who found it to be discriminatory toward women, because the literal translation of the title is "Brothers all". However, the Italian phrase has the common connotation of "all of humanity" and is, by default, inclusive. The Catholic Women’s Council wrote an open letter to the pope "expressing concern" that the title gives the impression that the encyclical is addressed only to men, which created frustrations in a Church that does not recognize female priesthood. Phyllis Zagano also criticized the title, saying: "Too much is at stake. Too many women are being insulted. Too many female lives are at risk".
Signature and publication
Pope Francis signed Fratelli tutti on 3 October 2020 in Assisi, at the tomb of Francis of Assisi in the eponymous basilica. After celebrating Mass in front of said tomb, Francis put the text of the encyclical "on the altar under the tomb of St. Francis and signed it". This signature marked the first time a papal encyclical was signed outside Rome. Francis's trip to Assisi was his first outside Rome since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, and his fourth visit to the city as pope. The conservative Spanish Catholic website InfoVaticana had leaked the original Spanish version of the encyclical on the same day despite the news embargo.
The text of the encyclical was officially published by the Vatican on 4 October 2020, the feast day of Francis of Assisi. The publication of the encyclical was preceded by a press conference the same day.
Inspirations In the encyclical, Pope Francis states that his February 2019 meeting in Abu Dhabi with Ahmad al-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of al-Azhar, during which they signed the Document on Human Fraternity, was an inspiration for the document. Besides Francis of Assisi, he also states that he has been inspired by numerous non-Catholics, including Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, and Mahatma Gandhi.
The notion of "neighbour" elaborated in the document is partly inspired by the interpretation of Paul Ricoeur, whom the pope quotes twice in the encyclical; the pope also quotes one of Ricoeur's thought leaders, Christian existentialist philosopher Gabriel Marcel.
Redaction Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández participated in the encyclical's redaction. Francis was also assisted by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the drafting of the encyclical.
Language The encyclical was written originally in Spanish, although the title is in Italian.
Content
The encyclical calls for more human fraternity and solidarity, and is a plea to reject wars. It focuses on contemporary social and economic problems, and proposes an ideal world of fraternity in which all countries can be part of a "larger human family". The encyclical is roughly 43,000 words long, divided into 8 chapters and 287 paragraphs, and contains 288 footnotes. Most of the encyclical contains what the Pope has already said, and can be considered as a systematic, comprehensive rearrangement of the work Francis has produced during his seven-year papacy. "By incorporating past sayings from homilies, speeches and statements into an encyclical, one of the highest levels of teaching in the church, he raises their authority".
Racism
The encyclical asserts that "[r]acism is a virus that quickly mutates and, instead of disappearing, goes into hiding, and lurks in waiting". It also condemns believers who continue to "support varieties of narrow and violent nationalism, xenophobia and contempt, and even the mistreatment of those who are different".
Immigration
Francis supports the cause of immigrants, saying: "No one, then, can remain excluded because of his or her place of birth, much less because of privileges enjoyed by others who were born in lands of greater opportunity. The limits and borders of individual states cannot stand in the way of this". He adds: "Each country also belongs to the foreigner inasmuch as a territory's goods must not be denied to a needy person coming from elsewhere". He says that migrants should also benefit from love, and quoted the USCCB's 2018 pastoral letter against racism, saying that there are some rights that "precede any society because they flow from the dignity granted to each person as created by God".
The Pope also calls for the establishment of the concept of "full citizenship" and the rejection of the discriminatory use of the expression "minorities". The pope insists that differences among people are a gift, and that the whole is more than the total of its single parts. He furthermore states that other cultures "are not 'enemies' from which we need to protect ourselves".
Interreligious relations
The encyclical is inspired by the Abu Dhabi declaration. In the encyclical, Pope Francis states the Abu Dhabi declaration "was no mere diplomatic gesture, but a reflection born of dialogue and common commitment". Fratelli tutti says: "we, the believers of the different religions, know that our witness to God benefits our societies" and "We Christians ask that, in those countries where we are a minority, we be guaranteed freedom, even as we ourselves promote that freedom for non-Christians in places where they are a minority".
Francis considers interreligious dialogue as a way to bring "friendship, peace and harmony", adding that without "openness to the Father of all", fraternity cannot be achieved. He adds that the foundation of modern totalitarianism is the "denial of the transcendent dignity of the human person" and that violence "has no basis in religious convictions, but rather in their deformities". According to him, however, dialogue does not involve reducing or hiding one's deepest convictions, and sincere and humble adoration of God promotes the sanctity of life.
Good Samaritan
Pope Francis reflects upon the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is the theological core of the encyclical. Pope Francis says this parable is an "ever new" call from Jesus to "rediscover our vocation as citizens of our respective nations and of the entire world, builders of a new social bond". It invites the reader to introspect their inner struggle between one's own security and personal sacrifices required by charity. The parable "speaks to us of an essential and often forgotten aspect of our common humanity: we were created for a fulfilment that can only be found in love". Pope Francis adds: "All of us have a responsibility for the wounded" and "We should not expect everything from those who govern us, for that would be childish. We have the space we need for co-responsibility in creating and putting into place new processes and changes". The Pope also urges people to "be Good Samaritans who bear the pain of other people's troubles rather than fomenting greater hatred and resentment".
In the same section, Pope Francis also criticises those who believe that worshipping God is enough and are untrue to what their faith demands of them. Also, Francis points at those who "manipulate and cheat society" and "live off" welfare. He also emphasizes the importance of recognising Jesus Christ in those who are abandoned or excluded and adds he "sometimes wonder[s] why it took so long for the Church unequivocally to condemn slavery and various forms of violence".
Universal fraternity
In the encyclical, Francis writes that the sense of global kinship is disappearing, and that the quest for justice and peace is being replaced by a "globalized indifference".
In Fratelli tutti, Francis states that universal brotherhood is possible, but requires "a decisive commitment to devising effective means to this end" (§ 180). Furthermore, he states that isolationism, nationalism, a global economy that "promotes individual interests", a "loss of the sense of history", limitless consumption, wastefulness, the lack of concern for the environment, and a throwaway culture are hindering this end. Among other things, abortion, euthanasia, neglect of the elderly, discrimination against women, and slavery are included as part of this throwaway culture; the word "abortion" is not present in the encyclical, but its condemnation is alluded. In the encyclical, Pope Francis says: "Social friendship and universal fraternity necessarily call for an acknowledgement of the worth of every human person, always and everywhere"; Francis warns that if the human dignity of disabled people, of poor people, or of those who do not have access to education is menaced, then fraternity will be but a "vague ideal". Francis states that individualism "does not make us more free, more equal, more fraternal", and that what is needed is a "universal love" which promotes the dignity of every human being. He also says that individualist consumerism can possibly "rapidly degenerate into a free-for-all" which would be "worse than any pandemic".
"Liberty, equality and fraternity"
In the encyclical Francis uses the expression "liberty, equality, and fraternity" without explicitly referencing the French motto. He explains that "[f]raternity is born not only of a climate of respect for individual liberties, or even of a certain administratively guaranteed equality. Fraternity necessarily calls for something greater, which in turn enhances freedom and equality". He adds that liberty and equality are nothing without fraternity. Moreover, the Pope criticizes the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for being abstract in essence, stating that equality cannot be attained by "an abstract proclamation that 'all men and women are equal'. Instead, it is the result of the conscious and careful cultivation of fraternity".
Dignity of women
In the encyclical, Pope Francis strives to ensure the situation of women globally is taken more into account; he also stated: "The organization of societies worldwide is still far from reflecting clearly that women possess the same dignity and identical rights as men".
Capital punishment and life imprisonment
Pope Francis repeats that the death penalty is "inadmissible" and that "there can be no stepping back from this position". He adds that the Catholic Church is committed to the worldwide abolition of the death penalty; he explains: "The firm rejection of the death penalty shows to what extent it is possible to recognize the inalienable dignity of every human being and to accept that he or she has a place in this universe". He also expresses opposition to life imprisonment, which he calls a "secret death penalty".
International politics