Fraternity is not an impossible dream, says Pope Leo at today’s general audience
In his catechesis dedicated to the perspective on others conveyed by Easter spirituality, Leo said that humanity “is best fulfilled when we are and live together.” Hence, everyone should heed Saint Francis’s greeting: “Tutti Fratelli”. The pontiff also paid tribute to Mother Eliswa Vakayil, the new blessed from Kerala, who inspired people working for the dignity of women. In his address to Polish pilgrims marking the end of the Great War, he stressed that nothing is better than peace.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Leo XIV dedicated this morning’s catechesis in the Wednesday general audience, which is part of the Jubilee cycle “Jesus Christ Our Hope”, to fraternity inspired by Easter spirituality.
In his address, the pope stressed that fraternity is one of the “great challenges for contemporary humanity”, arising from “something deeply human,” namely fundamental relationships that enable people to “survive, grow or learn.”
In short, humanity “is best fulfilled when we exist and live together,” but to overcome the "shadows that threaten it," it is necessary to entrust ourselves to "Him who alone frees us from the poison of enmity," the pontiff said.
Pope Francis clearly highlighted the relevance of fraternity when he signed his third encyclical on the topic in October 2020, Fratelli Tutti, Leo noted.
The title comes from the greeting Saint Francis of Assisi addressed “to everyone”, the pope said from the parvis of Saint Peter's, before thousands of faithful. “Omnes fratres” is addressed all people “regardless of their geographical, cultural, religious and doctrinal origins".
This “inclusive” greeting came some 800 years ago, when Saint Francis saw that every human being shared a “common destiny of dignity, dialogue, welcome, and salvation”.
The absence of fraternity – i.e. the ability, "if we want", to "build authentic bonds between us” – can lead to "loneliness" and "narcissism”. Symptoms become visible when “we turn in on ourselves”.
For Leo, narcissism arises from worrying about other people “only out of self-interest,” that is, when we are unwilling to "give” to someone “from whom we can take”.
Today, fraternity “cannot be taken for granted, it is not immediate." Just look at the "Many conflicts, many wars all over the world, social tensions and feelings of hatred" that constrain our societies. But despite this, fraternity "is not a beautiful but impossible dream.”
“The word ‘fraternity’ derives from a very ancient root, which means to care for, to have at heart, to support and sustain. Applied to every human person, it becomes an appeal, an invitation,” the pope explained.
Brother and sister are words that mostly evoke blood ties. But even within families, "hatred," "disagreement," and divisions can creep in and “devastate” relationships. This is why there is “the need, more urgent today than ever, to reflect on the greeting with which Saint Francis addressed” everyone: "Fratelli tutti”.
“That ‘tutti’, everyone, which meant for Saint Francis the welcoming sign of a universal fraternity, expresses an essential feature of Christianity, which ever since the beginning has been the proclamation of the Good News destined for the salvation of all, never in an exclusive or private form,” Leo said.
When he greeted pilgrims in various languages, Pope Leo XIV spoke to Polish speakers, citing yesterday's commemoration of “the end of the ‘useless slaughter’ of World War I, after which the dawn of independence dawned for many nations, including yours.”
From that new "dawn" also came a dream of peace. “As Saint Augustine said, 'nothing is absolutely better’,” the pope stated. Thus, “Let us guard it with hearts rooted in the Gospel, in a spirit of fraternity and love for our homeland. I bless you all!”
In addressing Italian-speaking pilgrims, the pontiff mentioned the beatification last Saturday in Kochi, Kerala (India) of Mother Eliswa Vakayil (1831-1913), founder of the Third Order of Discalced Carmelites.[*]
"Her courageous commitment to the emancipation of the poorest girls is a source of inspiration for all those working in the Church and in society for the dignity of women," Leo said.
[*] Third Order Discalced Carmelite Congregation (TOCD) for women in India later bifurcated to the Congregation of Teresian Carmelites (CTC) and the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC).
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24/10/2019 17:56
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