We publish in this section the Encyclical Letter "Fratelli tutti", signed  by Pope Francis in Assisi on 3 October.

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 .

The book published by the Librería Editrice Vaticana contains eight interventions by the Pope in the first months of the year marked by the coronavirus pandemic. The reading is guided by the preface of Cardinal Michael Czerny, Under-Secretary of the Dicastery's Migrants Section for the Service of Integral Human Development, which illustrates the Pope's unitary thinking, his vision of the future of humanity, full of love and hope.

"Life after the Pandemic" is the new book published by the Vatican Publishing House, available free of charge in digital format on the Publishing House's website and on the landing page of Vatican News. It contains the reflections of Pope Francis - written and spoken texts - on the coronavirus pandemic that has spread in the human family, outlining the guidelines for a new beginning that has the taste of a rebirth. 

Eight texts, dated 27 March to 22 April, which could be read as a unique development of his thought and as a rich message to humanity. The preface is signed by Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, Under-Secretary of the Section of Migrants and Refugees of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development. It highlights the two objectives of this collection: "to suggest a direction, keys to reading and guidelines for rebuilding a better world that could be born out of this crisis of humanity" (p. 3) and to sow hope in the midst of so much suffering and bewilderment. These eight texts, writes Cardinal Czerny, "show the warm and inclusive approach of Pope Francis, which does not reduce people to units to be counted, measured and administered, but altogether in the common humanity and spirit" (P5).

The book is available in 4 languages (IT/EN//ES/PT) and can be downloaded from the website Librería Editrice Vaticana

The book (E-Book) published by the  Librería Editrice Vaticana gathers the nine Catecheses of Pope Francis on the Covid-19 Pandemic during his General Audiences from August 5, 2020, to September 30, 2020.

In the preface, Card. Peter K. A. Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development states the following: "In his catecheses, delivered in the Wednesday public audiences of August and September 2020, Pope Francis wished to address the Church and the world with words of comfort, proposing inspiring alternatives to our old lifestyles, habits and social structures that the pandemic has revealed as lacking in justice, unsustainable and requiring drastic reforms to preserve the central value of the human person. The normality to which the Pope would like us to aspire as missionary disciples is that of God's Reign of justice, peace, and equality among sisters and brothers who have God as their Father, which we must anticipate on earth through our actions, policies, and decisions.

In this e-book, after each chapter, we include some points of reflection in order to work on each text in a more profound way, both individually and in parishes, groups, families, etc.

The book is now available in 5 languages (IT/EN/FR/ES/PT) and can be downloaded from  Librería Editrice Vaticana

The Coronavirus has caused a global humanitarian crisis all over the world. All plans, strategies and desires have been stopped and now the world has a time of deep reflection. This moment in history causes a change in human lives that needs to be transformed into action.

Brothers and sisters are turning back their eyes to God, to trust in his infinite mercy and ask for his assistance in healing the wounds caused by this pandemic. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to stop all the diseases that have hurt recently: the economic inequalities, the plight of the poor, the environmental abuse against our own Common House.

The Pope invitation during this time is to heal the world through prayer. It is the most powerful way to let the Lord to transform our heart and open ourselves to take care of others. As Pope Francis says: “Reflect and work together, as followers of the healing Jesus, to build a better world full of hope for future generations”.

The Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network has been working on an initiative to respond to this call of the Church, too. As a result, a new rosary for this time of pandemic and illnesses has been launched: The Crisis & Health Rosary. The Vatican's COVID-19 Commission, have elaborated the content. The writers, members of the Commission, intended to guide the prayer by linking some of the painful and struggling stories of people from all over the world with the contemplation of the different mysteries of the Rosary.

This rosary wants to strengthen the prayer for the world. For this purpose, real testimonies related to the COVID-19 can be found in each mystery. For example the story of David, who is confined to bed in his home for the elderly, after having tested positive for coronavirus. These are life experiences that will help to rediscover the Gospel lit up by the pandemic situation.

The Crisis & Health Rosary is available for Amazon Kindle and in the Google Play Books store. Furthermore, the Rosary can be downloaded for free as an EPUB, MOBI or PDF through the website www.popesprayer.va and also on this website, here below.

In addition, this new rosary will be also launched for the app Click To Pray eRosary on October 7, day of Our Lady of the Rosary. It can be downloaded totally for free for iOS and Android in five languages: english, italian, french, portuguese and spanish. An audio guide will lead the user through the mysteries and it will help them to contemplate the Gospel while listening to the testimonies of those affected by the pandemic. Background music and special content are also available to aid them in their spiritual concentration.

All reflections by Father Federico Lombardi, published on Vatican News in the section "Beyond the crisis", are an opportunity to meditate on the period of the pandemic, on the profound meanings that the coronavirus requires us to read in the events that are happening and on the prospects for the future, beyond the crisis.

VATICAN NEWS - BEYOND THE CRISIS

Marcelo Figueroa, theologian and biblical scholar, director of the Argentinian edition of the L'Osservatore Romano, reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic times.

• 1st of MAY  Working in a time of pandemic