Pope Francis says we are ‘a single family’

What is it that modern civilization most lacks? What are the fundamental deficiencies that ultimately could undermine it? This is mainly the question that Pope Francis wants to answer.

In his latest encyclical Fratelli Tutti – the phrase is from the writings of his namesake St. Francis of Assisi – the pope argues his case that social division, fragmentation and the friction they cause are the primary threats that humankind has to fear.

And the cause is the absence of a sense that human beings all belong to the same family, and hence to one another.

What the world needs is the realization that every member of the human race is brother or sister to every other member.

“We need to think of ourselves more and more as a single-family dwelling in a common home.”

Chapter 1 describes the sad state of the world.

It is depressing, yet Pope Francis offers hope.

“Difficulties that seem overwhelming are opportunities for growth, not excuses for a glum resignation that can lead only to acquiescence.” Chapter 2 is a meditation on the parable of the “Good Samaritan,” a herald of hope.

In it, the pope emphasizes that we are all called to become neighbors to others, overcoming prejudices, personal interests, historic and cultural barriers.

In Chapter 3, Francis recalls that the spiritual stature of a person’s life is measured by love.

This love must extend beyond family and nation to strangers, migrants and all people into a social friendship where the worth of every person is acknowledged.

The fourth chapter is dedicated to migration, “a heart open to the whole world.” Migrants are to be welcomed, protected, supported and integrated, in a right balance between the protection of citizens’ rights and the guarantee of assistance for migrants.

The theme of the fifth chapter is “a better kind of politics,” representing charity placed at the service of the common good.

The sixth chapter, “dialogue and friendship in society,” further develops the concept of life as the “art of encounter” with everyone, because “each of us can learn something from others.” The value and promotion of peace is reflected in Chapter 7, in which the pope underlines that peace is connected to truth, justice and mercy.

In the eighth and final chapter, the pope states peace among religions is possible.

If you want to understand Pope Francis, read Fratelli Tutti at the Vatican website. Skim it or read it slowly in small chunks. I do not recommend trying to get through the 43,000-word document as you would a novel. Take your time. Do not try to read more than a chapter in one sitting. Give the text time to marinate. Each chapter takes time to digest.

Fratelli Tutti is such a wise and holy roadmap to help us begin living as one human family. “No one can face life in isolation. 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 her or his own voice – brothers and sisters all.”

Father Paul Magnano is parish priest in the Skagit Valley Catholic Churches. His reflections on Fratelli Tutti conclude this week.