Fratelli tutti (All Brothers) is the third encyclical of Pope Francis, subtitled "on fraternity and social friendship". In the document, Francis states that the way the COVID-19 pandemic was managed by world countries has 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 Jesuit priest 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".