Pope Francis’s new encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti,” outlines his recipe for rebuilding a post-pandemic world, beginning with a complete restructuring of politics and civil discourse in order to create systems prioritizing the community and the poor, rather than individual or market interests.
Calling all people of goodwill to care for one another as brothers and sisters, Pope Francis urged people not to despair of making the world a better place, but to start creating the world they want through personal action and political lobbying.
Has Pope Pope Francis provided the Church with the resources to navigate another such great global struggle and come out the other side, alive and kicking? Only time will tell, but when that assessment eventually is drawn up, the conversation almost certainly will begin with ”Fratelli Tutti”.
Bringing the Vatican official in charge of translations with him, Pope Francis signed his new encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship,” at the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi, source of the document’s title and inspiration.
In his first trip outside Rome since the coronavirus pandemic began, Pope Francis celebrated Mass Saturday at the tomb of his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, and signed his new encyclical on human fraternity.
Even when physical proximity is impossible, Catholic communicators can use the media to reach out to people, help them experience the closeness of the church and invite them to follow Jesus more closely, the Vatican said.
On Sept. 27, Pope Francis marked the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, asking the world to pray for those forced to flee their homes at the close of a deadly week in which around 200 migrants seeking entry into Europe drowned in the Mediterranean.
On Sept. 25, Pope Francis addressed the United Nations General Assembly for the second time during his pontificate.
Click to read the full transcript of Pope Francis’ Sept. 25 address to the United Nations General Assembly.
Although the thought of standing with throngs of people for hours at a time seems foreign now in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it was something tens of thousands of Catholics were happy to do in Washington, New York and Philadelphia when Pope Francis made his visit to the United States five years ago.
