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Written by: Kamran Mofid

Published: 05 October 2020

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Pope Francis calls for politics to rediscover its vocation and to work for the  common good

Pope Francis released a new encyclical in Assisi on October 3 for the Feast of St. Francis. The title, “Fratelli Tutti,” can be translated as “Brothers and Sisters, All.” It highlights the theme of friendship and kinship, calling for peace and harmony among all peoples, religions, and nations. 

In an article in the National Catholic Reporter by JOSHUA J. MCELWEE, it is noted that: ‘Pope's post-COVID encyclical envisions a less populist, less capitalist world, laying out a comprehensive vision for how the world should change after the coronavirus pandemic. Pope Francis imagines societies that are more caring, more focused on helping those in need and fundamentally less attached to the principles of market capitalism.’

I firmly believe that, given the current global circumstances, this new encyclical will have widespread influence around the world, as has Laudato Si'  (Praise Be!: On Care for our Common Home) issued by the Pope in 2015.

FRATELLI TUTTI, Pope Francis’ third encyclical, which was published on 4 October 2020, urges  all people of goodwill to recognize the equal dignity of every person and to work together to build a world where people love and care for one another as brothers and sisters.

The pope is challenging us to overcome individualism in our culture and to serve our neighbors in love, and seeking a society of justice,  mercy, and compassion.

ENCYCLICAL LETTER

FRATELLI TUTTI

OF THE HOLY FATHER

FRANCIS

ON THE FRATERNITY AND SOCIAL FRIENDSHIP

'Given in Assisi, at the tomb of Saint Francis, on 3 October, Vigil of the Feast of the Saint,

in the year 2020, the eighth of my Pontificate.'

Photo: Catholic News Herald

‘Individualism {At the heart of the current global neoliberal socio economic and political model} does not make us more free, more equal, more fraternal. The mere sum of individual interests is not capable of generating a better world for the whole human family. Nor can it save us from the many ills that are now increasingly globalized. Radical individualism is a virus that is extremely difficult to eliminate, for it is clever. It makes us believe that everything consists in giving free rein to our own ambitions, as if by pursuing ever greater ambitions and creating safety nets we would somehow be serving the common good.’

The Pope tackles Covid pandemic and rising nationalism in third encyclical*

Pope Francis has warned against “myopic, extremist, resentful and aggressive nationalism” in some countries, and a “growing loss of the sense of history” in a major document outlining his view of the world.

Fratelli Tutti – the third encyclical, a pastoral letter addressed to the whole of the Catholic church, of his papacy – was published on Sunday, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, amid global uncertainty and anxiety over the Covid-19 pandemic and rising populism.

In the 45,000-word document, the pope urges nations to work towards a just and fraternal world based on common membership of the human family. He expands on familiar themes in his teachings, including opposition to war, the death penalty, slavery, trafficking, inequality and poverty; concerns about alienation, isolation and social media; and support for migrants fleeing violence and seeking a better life.

Pope Francis had begun writing the encyclical when the pandemic “unexpectedly erupted”. But, he says, the crisis has reinforced his belief that political and economic institutions must be reformed to address the needs of those most harmed by it. The global health emergency has demonstrated that “no one can face life in isolation” and that the “magic theories” of market capitalism have failed.

“Aside from the differing ways that various countries responded to the crisis, their inability to work together became quite evident,” Francis writes. “Anyone who thinks that the only lesson to be learned was the need to improve what we were already doing, or to refine existing systems and regulations, is denying reality.

“The fragility of world systems in the face of the pandemic has demonstrated that not everything can be resolved by market freedom. It is imperative to have a proactive economic policy directed at ‘promoting an economy that favours productive diversity and business creativity’ and makes it possible for jobs to be created, and not cut.”

Francis says a “certain regression” has taken place in today’s world. He notes the rise of “myopic, extremist, resentful and aggressive nationalism” in some countries, and “new forms of selfishness and a loss of the social sense”.

The leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics says “we are more alone than ever” in a world of “limitless consumerism” and “empty individualism” where there is a “growing loss of the sense of history” and a “kind of deconstructionism”.

“Hyperbole, extremism and polarisation” have become political tools in many countries, he writes, without “healthy debates” and long-term plans but rather “slick marketing techniques aimed at discrediting others”.

He notes that “we are growing ever more distant from one another” and that voices “raised in defence of the environment are silenced and ridiculed”.

Addressing digital culture, he criticises campaigns of “hatred and destruction” and says technology is removing people from reality. Fraternity depends on “authentic encounters”.

He writes: “Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travellers 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.”

The Right Reverend Richard Moth, the bishop of Arundel and Brighton, said the encyclical was very consistent with previous teachings and messages, but had particular relevance now. “He is saying there are very clear risks to not learning the lessons of history,” he said.

Christine Allen, the director of the Catholic aid agency Cafod, said Pope Francis was “unflinching in his message”.

“Politics is failing the poor, and it is shameful that some political decisions that are made affect the poorest, plunging them further into poverty, suffering and despair,” she said, adding: “This is a message not just to Catholics, or people of other faiths, it is to everyone. It is a powerful voice amid the pandemic, growing inequality, conflict and racial unrest. Pope Francis’s message is clear: we cannot just switch on the reset button and go back to ‘normal’.”

The pope says his inspiration for the encyclical came from St Francis of Assisi and non-Catholics such as Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu and Mahatma Gandhi. Fratelli Tutti, he says, develops some of the themes of the Document on Human Fraternity that he signed with the grand imam of al-Azhar University, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, in Abu Dhabi last year.’

*This article by Harriet Sherwood was first published in The Guardian on 4 October 2020

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Love and the common good to heal the wounds of the coronavirus crisis: Pope Francis

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The Pandemic and the forgotten Love Story

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Written by: Kamran Mofid

Published: 05 October 2020

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‘The wounds inflicted by the coronavirus crisis will only be healed if we put the common good first.- Pope Francis

GENERAL AUDIENCE

San Damaso courtyard

Wednesday, 9 September 2020

Pope Francis pictured at his general audience in the San Damaso Courtyard at the Vatican Sept. 9, 2020.

Photo: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

A Summary of the Pope’s Address:

‘Dear Brothers and Sisters, in our reflections on the current pandemic in the light of the Church’s social doctrine, we have seen that the common good must be the goal of our individual and collective efforts to heal our wounded world. Our Christian commitment in this regard is inspired by God’s unconditional love, which calls us to set no limits on our love for others and our concern for their welfare. As members of the one human family, our wellbeing is a public not simply a private good. By placing every human person and the common good at the centre of our cultural, economic and political activity, we will create a genuinely healthy, just and peaceful world, and so contribute to the building of a true “civilization of love”. The coronavirus heeds no cultural or political barrier or distinction – nor must we impose any barrier or distinction on our love as we work for the common good in responding to the grave problems brought to the fore by the pandemic, in fidelity to our Christian vocation.’

“A virus that does not recognize barriers, borders, or cultural or political distinctions must be faced with a love without barriers, borders or distinctions,” the Pope said on September 9 in the San Damaso Courtyard within the Vatican’s apostolic palace.

His general audience address, on “Love and the common good,” was part of a catechetical cycle entitled “Healing the world,” which the Pope launched on August 5. The cycle focuses on how the Church’s social doctrine can help the world to recover from the ravages of COVID-19, which has killed almost 898,000 people worldwide as of September 9, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Before the audience, the pope spent time mingling with pilgrims, who stood at the barriers wearing face masks. When he reached the podium, he asked them to return to their carefully spaced-out seats in order to prevent the potential spread of the virus. It was only his second Wednesday audience with pilgrims since February due to the pandemic.

The audience began with a reading in several languages from Matthew 15:32-37, a passage known as the Feeding of the Four Thousand, in which Jesus feeds the multitude with seven loaves and a few fish.

“The crisis we are living due to the pandemic is affecting everyone; we will emerge from it for the better if we all seek the common good together,” the pope said, according to an unofficial translation provided by the Holy See press office.

Sadly, however, “partisan interests” were emerging.

“For example, some would like to appropriate possible solutions for themselves, as in the case of vaccines, to then sell them to others. Some are taking advantage of the situation to instigate divisions: by seeking economic or political advantages, generating or exacerbating conflicts. Others simply are not interesting themselves in the suffering of others, they pass by and go their own way. They are the devotees of Pontius Pilate, washing their hands of others’ suffering,” he said.

In contrast, the Christian response to the pandemic and resulting socio-economic crisis should be rooted in the love of God, which enables people even to seek the good of their enemies.

“Certainly, to love everyone, including enemies, is difficult — I would say it is even an art! But an art that can be learned and improved. True love that makes us fruitful and free is always expansive, and love is not only expansive, it is inclusive. This love cares, heals and does good,” the pope said.

Christian love also extends to civil and political relationships, he explained, as well as our relationship with nature.

“Since we are social and political beings, one of the highest expressions of love is specifically social and political which is decisive to human development and in order to face any type of crisis,” he said.

“We know that love makes families and friendships flourish; but it is good to remember that it also makes social, cultural, economic and political relationships flourish, allowing us to construct a ‘civilization of love,’ as St. Paul VI used to love to say and, in turn, St. John Paul II. Without this inspiration, the egotistical, indifferent, throw-away culture prevails.”

Pope Francis told pilgrims that when he arrived for the audience he spoke to a married couple who asked for his prayers because they had a disabled child. He said that they had dedicated their whole lives to their son and suggested that they were an example of the love that we must show to all, including our political adversaries.

“The coronavirus is showing us that each person’s true good is a common good, not only individual, and, vice versa, the common good is a true good for the person. If a person only seeks his or her own good, that person is egotistical. Instead, the person is kinder, nobler, when his or her own good is open to everyone, when it is shared,” he said.

“Health, in addition to being an individual good, is also a public good. A healthy society is one that takes care of everyone’s health, of all.”

The pope said that love can help to build new social structures marked by creativity, trust and solidarity.

“Conversely, if the solutions for the pandemic bear the imprint of egoism, whether it be by persons, businesses or nations, we may perhaps emerge from the coronavirus crisis, but certainly not from the human and social crisis that the virus has brought to light and accentuated,” the Pope observed.

He added that a just and peaceful society could only be built upon the rock of the common good.

“And this is everyone’s task, not only that of a few specialists,” he said. “St. Thomas Aquinas used to say that the promotion of the common good is a duty of justice that falls on each citizen. Every citizen is responsible for the common good. And for Christians, it is also a mission. As St. Ignatius of Loyola taught, to direct our daily efforts toward the common good is a way of receiving and spreading God’s glory.”

He suggested that, while politics has a bad reputation, a good politics that puts the human person and the common good at its center is still possible. Christians can demonstrate this by exercising the virtue of charity, which has an “intrinsic social dimension.”

He concluded: “It is therefore time to improve our social love — I want to highlight this: our social love — with everyone’s contribution, starting from our littleness. The common good requires everyone’s participation. If everyone contributes his or her part, and if no one is left out, we can regenerate good relationships on the communitarian, national, and international level, and even in harmony with the environment.”

“Thus, through our gestures, even the most humble ones, something of the image of God we bear within us will be made visible, because God is the Trinity, God is love … With His help, we can heal the world working, yes, all together for the common good, for everyone’s common good.”

After greeting members of different language groups, the Pope noted that September 9 was the first International Day to Protect Education from Attack. The day, established in May by the United Nations General Assembly, highlights the plight of the more than 75 million children worldwide whose schooling is disrupted by violence.

He said: “I invite you to pray for students who are seriously deprived of the right to education due to war and terrorism. I urge the international community to do its utmost so that the structures that must protect young students be respected. May efforts that guarantee safe environments for their education not wain, above all in situations of humanitarian crises.”

*See the original article HERE

See also: Common good, not greed, must motivate search for vaccine, pope says

See more related articles:

"Caritas in veritate"(Charity in Truth):Economics and Theology Together Again

Catholic Social Teaching: A New Socioeconomic Zeitgeist?

 Pope Francis urges the world leaders to provide “for the common good” 

A reflection on ‘Evangelii Gaudium’, Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis 

Pope Francis: Remember two things- human dignity and the common good

Pope Francis to global elite: Do more for the poor and take action in the interest of the common good