Editor: Banzelao Teixeira
Publisher: Christian World Imprints
ISBN: 978-93-95457-25-5
Price: Rs. 550/-
The book ‘Building Bridges of Fraternity & Friendship’ is an amazing collection of reflections by different authors on Fratelli Tutti, the third encyclical of Pope Francis, subtitled “on fraternity and social friendship”. In Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis states that the way the COVID-19 pandemic was managed by world countries has shown a failure in global cooperation.
Curated by editor Fr Banzelão Julio Teixeira, various articles touch upon many decisive milestones through the eyes of the Holy Father. Take for example his apostolic visit to Kazakhstan, which brought about a common desire for peace.
This collection of articles by men and women associated with Divyadaan: Salesian Institute of Philosophy, Nashik, will hopefully help reflect on issues that emerge from a careful reading of Fratelli Tutti. The richness of the encyclical cannot be exhausted by the contributions made in this volume, rather they will urge readers to further explore the themes that are central to this defining document. Here we provide an overview of the articles in this volume.
The volume opens with a summary of the encyclical Fratelli Tutti by Vinod Mascarenhas. This chapter-wise summary serves as a good orientation to the rest of the volume, especially for readers who have not had the time to read Fratelli Tutti in its entirety.
While Pope Francis was preparing for his first apostolic visit to Kazakhstan (13-15 September 2022), the manuscript of this book was being readied for publication. However, Fr Teixeira was tempted to add a note on this important papal visit since it reiterates his commitment to build bridges of fraternity. Despite Pope’s limited mobility he needs to be assisted and uses a wheelchair—the 85 year-old pontiff was keen to visiting Kazakhstan and also to participate in the 7th Congress of leaders of world and traditional religions held there every three years. Two days prior to his visit, the Holy Father spoke to the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus: “I ask you all to accompany me with prayer on this pilgrimage of dialogue and peace.” He considered this an opportunity to meet religious representatives and to dialogue with them as brothers and sisters, animated by the “common desire for peace, peace for which our world is thirsting.”
Barely two months prior to his Kazakhstan visit, Pope Francis undertook an apostolic journey to Canada (24-29 July 2022) with the ‘mission of reconciliation.’ In Maskwacis, Alberta, he apologized to indigenous peoples for the role many members of the Catholic Church played in establishing and developing Canada’s residential schools. .”[1] Representatives of the indigenous groups claimed to be satisfied with this major step; his apology, they believe, is the start of a long process of reconciliation. The headdress offered to the Pope by the Chiefs – who themselves were survivors of the residential schools – is a symbol of trust. ‘It signifies that we are connected,’ they claimed.
Another decisive action of Pope Francis that needs mention is his visit to the Russian embassy in Rome on 25 February 2022 in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. Breaking diplomatic protocol, Pope Francis visited the Russian ambassador, Alexander Avdeyev, at the embassy and expressed his concerns over the conflict in Ukraine. He appealed to the ambassador to take care of the children, the sick and those who are suffering—the unnoticed victims of any armed conflict. Francis’ visit to the Russian embassy reflects his concern for the victims of war and his willingness to walk the extra mile to promote peace.
Francis is convinced that human beings have the potential to tear down the walls—built on the basis of religious, cultural and ethnic differences, political ideologies, language, caste—that divide us; and, to build bridges between groups, peoples, cultures, religions and nations. His writings—in particular Laudato si’ and Fratelli Tutti—as well as his apostolic visits to various nations, and meetings with world and religious leaders are vivid expressions of his desire to reach out to others and to safeguard our common home.
Despite the insurmountable challenges posed by the pandemic and the tense war-like situation in many parts of the world, as intensely demonstrated in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Pope Francis continues “to erect arches and establish pillars, to lay paving stones that can reinforce the road. He is not only initiating processes…. but also building bridges. Certainly not all of them can be completed”[2] in his lifetime but that does not stop him from investing his energies into it. Through Fratelli Tutti he is inviting all people of good will to join hands in this process of building bridges and contributing to the culture of peace. We should not get discouraged when we are unable to see the fruits of our labour. We sow the seeds, water the ground, and hope the future generations will reap a good harvest.
The message of Fratelli Tutti is particularly relevant to India—a nation rich in racial, cultural, linguistic and religious diversity, but in the recent past plagued by militant nationalism, state authoritarianism, right-wing ideologies, caste discrimination, fundamentalism and new forms of fascism. We have created walls on the basis of caste, gender, language, culture, religion, politics, etc. Pope Francis calls us to transcend the barriers that divide us; to broaden our vision so as to include our fellow citizens as brothers and sisters.
Only dialogue will help us to transform the barriers to bridges. Fratelli Tutti makes us aware of the fact that identity and dialogue are not opposites—if we engage in dialogue it does not mean that we are compromising our identity – instead, our cultural and religious identities are strengthened and enriched as a result of dialogue with those unlike ourselves.
Pope Francis, through his life and teachings, draws our attention to Jesus our Master who built bridges of fraternity by denouncing unjust ideologies and oppressive practices so as to promote respectful gender relationships and inter-racial acceptance; he involved those on the margins of society in his mission of building a just and equal society. In our times Pope Francis shows us the path to the fraternity with his timely initiatives and unflagging zeal.
Building bridges of Fraternity is a continuous and never-ending process because we are easily drawn towards division. In this context Evelyn Monteiro challenges us with her simple but profound insight: “We are not naturally born as brothers and sisters, rather we must learn to become so every day.”[3] On this path of becoming brothers and sisters, Fratelli Tutti is the compass that will guide our steps in the decades to come.
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