Pope Francis signed the Encyclical Letter "Fratelli tutti" in Assisi on 3 October, the text of which was made public the following day.
It proposes fraternity and social friendship as the ways indicated to build a better, more just and peaceful world, with the commitment of all: people and institutions. The Encyclical is in continuity with the previous Laudato si' of 2015, in which the Holy Father - after denouncing the evils that afflict the common home also due to the activities of people - proposes integral ecology as an instrument of love and respect for all (and among all) and for creation. In "Fratelli tutti" the Pope emphasizes that in the common home we all live as one family and proposes concrete actions to restore the world and overcome the ills generated by the pandemic crisis, which has now become a health, economic, social, anthropological and political crisis: peace, because no work will be possible if nations and peoples continue to fight each other; dialogue, because each finds its completeness in the other; the strengthening of multilateralism and no to any kind of war; the fight against the globalization of indifference and the promotion of social inclusion.
As Pope Francis said on Sunday, October 4, 2020, when he presented it to the world during the Angelus, "I offered the Encyclical to God at the tomb of St. Francis, from whom I drew inspiration, as I did for the previous Laudato si'. The signs of the times clearly show that human fraternity and care for creation form the only way towards integral development and peace, already indicated by the Holy Popes John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II".
It is clear the message of inclusion that the Encyclical wants to highlight and propose from the very first lines. Indeed:
1. “FRATELLI TUTTI”.[1] With these words, Saint Francis of Assisi addressed his brothers and sisters and proposed to them a way of life marked by the flavour of the Gospel. Of the counsels Francis offered, I would like to select the one in which he calls for a love that transcends the barriers of geography and distance, and declares blessed all those who love their brother “as much when he is far away from him as when he is with him”.[2] In his simple and direct way, Saint Francis expressed the essence of a fraternal openness that allows us to acknowledge, appreciate and love each person, regardless of physical proximity, regardless of where he or she was born or lives.
2. This saint of fraternal love, simplicity and joy, who inspired me to write the Encyclical Laudato Si’, prompts me once more to devote this new Encyclical to fraternity and social friendship. Francis felt himself a brother to the sun, the sea and the wind, yet he knew that he was even closer to those of his own flesh. Wherever he went, he sowed seeds of peace and walked alongside the poor, the abandoned, the infirm and the outcast, the least of his brothers and sisters.
"Fratelli tutti" is available in different languages (AR - DE - EN - ES - FR - IT - PL - PT); it can be downloaded from the website of the Libreria Editrice Vaticana .