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The social encyclical that Pope Francis published in October presents a formidable challenge for all of us, the challenge of creating “a different culture.” What kind of culture? It is the type in which people who are basically indifferent to each other and deeply divided resolve their conflicts and begin to “take care of each other” (n. 57).
Your challenge is a difficult task, no doubt. But he considers it an “urgent” need (n. 33). The title of the encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti”, means “all brothers and sisters” or “all brothers” and refers to the fraternal or family-type relationships that he envisions as the standard for such a culture.
“In today’s world, the sense of belonging to a single human family is fading, and the dream of working together for justice and peace seems an outdated utopia,” the encyclical observes. “What reigns instead is a cool, comfortable and globalized indifference.” The temptation is to isolate ourselves and fall back on our “own interests.”
[Full text of the encyclical can be found here]
But that’s not the way to restore hope, Pope Francis clarifies. His encyclical exhorts readers, “Isolation, no; closeness, yes ”(no. 30).
Very early in the encyclical he explains that he is expanding this challenge “in the hope that, in the face of current attempts to eliminate or ignore others, we will be able to respond with a new vision of fraternity and social friendship that does not remain at the level of the words ”(No. 6).
As the encyclical concludes, pray that God “inspires in us a dream of renewed encounter, dialogue, justice and peace.” The prayer continues: “May we recognize the goodness and beauty that you have sown in each one of us.”
The “conviction that all human beings are brothers and sisters” is the foundation of this encyclical. Pope Francis warns against allowing it to “remain an abstract idea,” divorced from the concrete realities of life. He insists that when this conviction finds a “concrete incarnation” it forces us to “see things in a new light” (n. 128).
The encyclical is a text of almost 43,000 words, with chapters devoted to many important concerns of 21st century societies. But a common thread weaves together the encyclical’s many current concerns related to political action, immigration, the death penalty, or war, for example. It is a thread that signifies the current world’s need for a new culture of encounter.
I believe that this common thread radiates as clearly as possible when the Pope exclaims: “Let us arm our children with the weapons of dialogue! Let’s teach them to fight the good fight of the culture of the encounter! ”(No. 217).
Such a culture necessarily includes encounters with other people who are different from me or you, the Pope acknowledges. This is not easy. Much easier, in the Pope’s estimation, is to ignore the value of such encounters.
The “others” the Pope has in mind include the poor, foreigners, the unemployed, migrants, victims of racism, members of other world religions, to name a few. The Pope is emphatic that “the dignity of others must be respected in all circumstances” (no. 213).
The 2000-year-old Parable of the Good Samaritan is the anchor of this encyclical. In the Gospel of Luke (10: 25-37), the Samaritan, at the cost of himself in terms of time and money, helped a stranger who was on the road. The wounded stranger had been attacked by thieves.
Pope Francis warns that today’s society must not “turn its back on suffering” (n. 65). He writes: “May we not sink to such depths!” The parable “calls us to rediscover our vocation as citizens of our respective nations and of the entire world, builders of a new social bond” (n. 66).
But “social peace requires hard work, crafts,” says the Pope. “It would be easier to keep freedoms and differences under control with intelligence and some resources.”
However, “such peace would be superficial and fragile, not the fruit of a culture of encounter that brings lasting stability.” The Pope comments that “integrating differences is a much more difficult and slow process, but it is the guarantee of a genuine and lasting peace” (n. 217).
What is needed is “the ability to recognize the right of others to be themselves and to be different,” he advises (n. 218).
This, Pope Francis clarifies, does not imply renouncing one’s identity. Openness to others does not necessarily imply despising our “own wealth” (No. 143). For Christians, he explains, the Gospel remains essential.
He insists, “if the music of the Gospel stops playing in our homes, our public squares, our workplaces, our political and financial life, then we will no longer hear the tensions that challenge us to defend the dignity of every man and woman. ”(No. 277).
The parable of the Good Samaritan “eloquently presents the basic decision we must make to rebuild our wounded world,” says Pope Francis. But how?
The parable, he writes, “shows us how a community can be rebuilt by men and women who identify with the vulnerability of others, who reject the creation of a society of exclusion and act instead as neighbors, raising up and rehabilitating those in love. . for the common good ”(n. 67).
Gibson served on the editorial staff of Catholic News Service for 37 years.
