[51] Cf. This constitutes a genuine scandal. Pope Francis Social Encyclical: ‘Fratelli Tutti’ was launched at the Vatican, Sunday 4 October, 2020. [228] PIUS XI, Encyclical Letter Quadragesimo Anno (15 May 1931): AAS 23 (1931), 213. They are left without horizons, for they lack this interchange with others”.[26]. The truth is that “never has humanity had such power over itself, yet nothing ensures that it will be used wisely”. [6] Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all. [229] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24 November 2013), 228: AAS 105 (2013), 1113. These considerations help us recognize the urgent need to combat all that threatens or violates fundamental human rights. This is today’s challenge, and we should not be afraid to face it. [66] For this reason, “man always has to take up the challenge of moving beyond himself”.[67]. There is yet another way to eliminate others, one aimed not at countries but at individuals. I think first of families, called to a primary and vital mission of education. Even more, it suggests a striving for excellence and what is best for others, their growth in maturity and health, the cultivation of values and not simply material wellbeing. Nonetheless, “we wish to emphasize that, together with these historical advances, great and valued as they are, there exists a moral deterioration that influences international action and a weakening of spiritual values and responsibility. The effective distribution of power (especially political, economic, defence-related and technological power) among a plurality of subjects, and the creation of a juridical system for regulating claims and interests, are one concrete way of limiting power. Here, economic negotiations do not work. Nor should we naively refuse to recognize that “obsession with a consumerist lifestyle, above all when few people are capable of maintaining it, can only lead to violence and mutual destruction”. Persons or situations we find unpleasant or disagreeable are simply deleted in today’s virtual networks; a virtual circle is then created, isolating us from the real world in which we are living. For peace “is not merely absence of war but a tireless commitment – especially on the part of those of us charged with greater responsibility – to recognize, protect and concretely restore the dignity, so often overlooked or ignored, of our brothers and sisters, so that they can see themselves as the principal protagonists of the destiny of their nation”. He made of them a way of life. Those actions have their source in a union increasingly directed towards others, considering them of value, worthy, pleasing and beautiful apart from their physical or moral appearances. I will give everyone the possibility of sharing this planet with me, despite all our differences. It also means combatting the structural causes of poverty, inequality, the lack of work, land and housing, the denial of social and labour rights. 1, ad 4: “Dicitur amor extasim facere et fervere, quia quod fervet extra se bullit et exhalat”. 145. For “the future is not monochrome; if we are courageous, we can contemplate it in all the variety and diversity of what each individual person has to offer. Good and evil no longer exist in themselves; there is only a calculus of benefits and burdens. Jn 17:21). [201] Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ (24 May 2015), 123: AAS 107 (2015), 896. As it is unacceptable that some have fewer rights by virtue of being women, it is likewise unacceptable that the mere place of one’s birth or residence should result in his or her possessing fewer opportunities for a developed and dignified life. Even in Catholic media, limits can be overstepped, defamation and slander can become commonplace, and all ethical standards and respect for the good name of others can be abandoned”. One speaks of respect for freedom, but without roots in a shared narrative; in certain contexts, those who defend the rights of the most vulnerable members of society tend to be criticized as populists. 114. Jesus’ reaction, which sprang from his heart, bridges the gap of the centuries and reaches the present as an enduring appeal. Approaching, speaking, listening, looking at, coming to know and understand one another, and to find common ground: all these things are summed up in the one word “dialogue”. The development of a global community of fraternity based on the practice of social friendship on the part of peoples and nations calls for a better kind of politics, one truly at the service of the common good. Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, entitled Fratelli tutti, has already elicited some comments, but the interest shown in it has not been general - far from it. 243. Some liberal approaches ignore this factor of human weakness; they envisage a world that follows a determined order and is capable by itself of ensuring a bright future and providing solutions for every problem. Genuine social friendship within a society makes true universal openness possible. If someone has a problem, even a serious one, even if he brought it upon himself, the rest of the family comes to his assistance; they support him. The right to private property is always accompanied by the primary and prior principle of the subordination of all private property to the universal destination of the earth’s goods, and thus the right of all to their use. [28] Address to the World of Culture, Cagliari, Italy (22 September 2013): L’Osservatore Romano, 23-24 September 2013, p. 7. If only we might keep in mind all those elderly persons who died for lack of respirators, partly as a result of the dismantling, year after year, of healthcare systems. [25], 27. Love of neighbour is concrete and squanders none of the resources needed to bring about historical change that can benefit the poor and disadvantaged. Even the Good Samaritan, for example, needed to have a nearby inn that could provide the help that he was personally unable to offer. 94. The world was relentlessly moving towards an economy that, thanks to technological progress, sought to reduce “human costs”; there were those who would have had us believe that freedom of the market was sufficient to keep everything secure. [269] And in imitation of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, “we want to be a Church that serves, that leaves home and goes forth from its places of worship, goes forth from its sacristies, in order to accompany life, to sustain hope, to be the sign of unity… to build bridges, to break down walls, to sow seeds of reconciliation”. English translation in Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, vol 1., New York, London, Manila (1999), 131. [81] This is a basic principle of social life that tends to be ignored in a variety of ways by those who sense that it does not fit into their worldview or serve their purposes. Otherwise, political propaganda, the media and the shapers of public opinion will continue to promote an individualistic and uncritical culture subservient to unregulated economic interests and societal institutions at the service of those who already enjoy too much power. [222] If we have to begin anew, it must always be from the least of our brothers and sisters. [271] SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions Nostra Aetate, 2. To do so, however, they need young people who have no use for history, who spurn the spiritual and human riches inherited from past generations, and are ignorant of everything that came before them”.[10]. [188] Address to Participants in the World Meeting of Popular Movements (28 October 2014): AAS 106 (2014), 853. Hence they ought to be “agents in their own redemption”. If a criminal has harmed me or a loved one, no one can forbid me from demanding justice and ensuring that this person – or anyone else – will not harm me, or others, again. Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. If I do not deny that dignity to the worst of criminals, I will not deny it to anyone. [110] General Audience (3 April 2019): L’Osservatore Romano, 4 April 2019, p. 8. 30. We forget that “there is no worse form of alienation than to feel uprooted, belonging to no one. [240] At issue is whether the development of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and the enormous and growing possibilities offered by new technologies, have granted war an uncontrollable destructive power over great numbers of innocent civilians. 34. It means confronting the destructive effects of the empire of money… Solidarity, understood in its most profound meaning, is a way of making history, and this is what popular movements are doing”.[90]. [20] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24 November 2013), 212: AAS 105 (2013), 1108. Aside from the different ways that various countries responded to the crisis, their inability to work together became quite evident. If we want to encounter and help one another, we have to dialogue. Closed groups and self-absorbed couples that define themselves in opposition to others tend to be expressions of selfishness and mere self-preservation. 226. It also testifies to the fact that, since the important things we share are so many, it is possible to find a means of serene, ordered and peaceful coexistence, accepting our differences and rejoicing that, as children of the one God, we are all brothers and sisters”. But monologues engage no one, and their content is frequently self-serving and contradictory. Since conditions that favour the outbreak of wars are once again increasing, I can only reiterate that “war is the negation of all rights and a dramatic assault on the environment. If each individual is of such great worth, it must be stated clearly and firmly that “the mere fact that some people are born in places with fewer resources or less development does not justify the fact that they are living with less dignity”. This has now given free rein to ideologies. How marvellously human! Saint Paul describes kindness as a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22). Negotiation often becomes necessary for shaping concrete paths to peace. The encyclical … 119. They have to learn how to cultivate a penitential memory, one that can accept the past in order not to cloud the future with their own regrets, problems and plans. Families are the first place where the values of love and fraternity, togetherness and sharing, concern and care for others are lived out and handed on. These are war and the death penalty. [67] Karl Rahner, Kleines Kirchenjahr. Although reality is one, it can be approached from various angles and with different methodologies. 4:21.33; 5:13). The riches we possess are not our own, but theirs as well”. [15] In addition, a readiness to discard others finds expression in vicious attitudes that we thought long past, such as racism, which retreats underground only to keep reemerging. Will the wounded man end up being the justification for our irreconcilable divisions, our cruel indifference, our intestine conflicts? In recent decades, every single war has been ostensibly “justified”. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Letter to the Bishops Regarding the Revision of No. [170] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate (29 June 2009), 2: AAS 101 (2009), 642. The loneliness, fear and insecurity experienced by those who feel abandoned by the system creates a fertile terrain for various “mafias”. The Church has rightly called attention to several of these, such as the possibility of judicial error and the use made of such punishment by totalitarian and dictatorial regimes as a means of suppressing political dissidence or persecuting religious and cultural minorities, all victims whom the legislation of those regimes consider ‘delinquents’. [263] Address to the Leaders of Other Religions and Other Christian Denominations, Tirana, Albania (21 September 2014): Insegnamenti II, 2 (2014), 277. They break the vicious circle; they halt the advance of the forces of destruction. Not even the majority of the social body may violate these rights, by going against the minority”. This is how some justify their indifference: the poor, whose pleas for help might touch their hearts, simply do not exist. On the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, released the third encyclical letter of his papacy entitled Fratelli Tutti, on fraternity and social friendship. [192] General Audience (18 February 2015): L’Osservatore Romano, 19 February 2015, p. 8. Hearing his call, we recognize with sorrow that the process of globalization still lacks the prophetic and spiritual contribution of unity among Christians. [69] Saint Bonaventure, for his part, explained that the other virtues, without charity, strictly speaking do not fulfil the commandments “the way God wants them to be fulfilled”.[70]. For this reason, “care must be taken not to fall into certain errors which can arise from a misunderstanding of the concept of human rights and from its misuse. Closed populist groups distort the word “people”, since they are not talking about a true people. [65] Cf. 78. Many centuries later, Saint Irenaeus would use the image of a melody to make the same point: “One who seeks the truth should not concentrate on the differences between one note and another, thinking as if each was created separately and apart from the others; instead, he should realize that one and the same person composed the entire melody”.[54]. These groups and organizations often carry out commendable efforts in the service of the common good and their members at times show true heroism, revealing something of the grandeur of which our humanity is still capable. Every society needs to ensure that values are passed on; otherwise, what is handed down are selfishness, violence, corruption in its various forms, indifference and, ultimately, a life closed to transcendence and entrenched in individual interests. For we ourselves were once foolish” (Tit 3:2-3). To be sure, “it is no easy task to overcome the bitter legacy of injustices, hostility and mistrust left by conflict. Truth means recognizing the pain of women who are victims of violence and abuse… Every act of violence committed against a human being is a wound in humanity’s flesh; every violent death diminishes us as people… Violence leads to more violence, hatred to more hatred, death to more death. Peace is not achieved by normative frameworks and institutional arrangements between well-meaning political or economic groups… It is always helpful to incorporate into our peace processes the experience of those sectors that have often been overlooked, so that communities themselves can influence the development of a collective memory”. At times, the inability to recognize equal human dignity leads the more developed regions in some countries to think that they can jettison the “dead weight” of poorer regions and so increase their level of consumption. [183] Only a gaze transformed by charity can enable the dignity of others to be recognized and, as a consequence, the poor to be acknowledged and valued in their dignity, respected in their identity and culture, and thus truly integrated into society. We will have to go further, by respecting the demands of truth regarding the origins of this recurring crisis. Truth means telling families torn apart by pain what happened to their missing relatives. [213] SOUTHERN AFRICAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE, Pastoral Letter on Christian Hope in the Current Crisis (May 1986). If we go to the ultimate source of that love which is the very life of the triune God, we encounter in the community of the three divine Persons the origin and perfect model of all life in society. Given this situation, it is essential to devise stronger and more efficiently organized international institutions, with functionaries who are appointed fairly by agreement among national governments, and empowered to impose sanctions”. [247] Address on the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (11 October 2017): AAS 109 (2017), 1196. Reading other texts of the New Testament, we can see how the early Christian communities, living in a pagan world marked by widespread corruption and aberrations, sought to show unfailing patience, tolerance and understanding. I ask everyone to move beyond those primal reactions because “there is a problem when doubts and fears condition our way of thinking and acting to the point of making us intolerant, closed and perhaps even – without realizing it – racist. Saint Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio (26 March 1967): AAS 59 (1967), 265; Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate (29 June 2009), 16: AAS 101 (2009), 652. [204] I have frequently called for the growth of a culture of encounter capable of transcending our differences and divisions. The series will be taped so, if you miss a session, you can view it afterwards. For this to be truly useful, it is essential to uphold “the need to be faithful to agreements undertaken (pacta sunt servanda)”,[154] and to avoid the “temptation to appeal to the law of force rather than to the force of law”. Do not despise it when it is naked. 85. In the first, people get caught up in an abstract, globalized universe… In the other, they turn into a museum of local folklore, a world apart, doomed to doing the same things over and over, incapable of being challenged by novelty or appreciating the beauty which God bestows beyond their borders”. 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