One of the best things Pope Francis has given to Catholics and the world is this Encyclical LetterFratelli Tutti (Siblings All). This call to brotherhood and sisterhood stands out because the future of the world and the ecosystem is very much depending on it. This siblinghood is highly expected to be demonstrated by religious men and women since all religions invoke in the end the same God. Moreover, if God is our Father and He is our common denominator then we are all brothers and sisters. The symbol of this siblinghood can be taken as love, unity and peace and that is what the world needs now in order to heal. The Church wisely instituted in 1908 The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Fratelli Tutti came 112 years after the launching of the Prayer for the Christian Unity and the call is still as vivid as it was in 1908 and as urgent as never before.
Peace with conflict
Human beings as we are, even in the most peaceful moments, conflict can arise. It is part of life. Nevertheless, the desire to journey together and grow as human community urge us to seek resolution and bring back the lost peace because of conflicts. Such effort, if done in truth and openness, strengthens human relationship, and ties and the bond gets more resilient.
The call of Fratelli Tutti’s invitation is timely as the Pope points out that the connection between peace and truth on one side and justice and mercy on the other are instrumental for our coexistence. We should never be moved by vengeance but a continuous seeking of reconciliation which makes our world a better place for all, even for those who do not share the same religion, faith, race and culture with us. A key element to this is forgiveness. Forgiveness that is not synonym of forgetting because should we forget, we fall back in the same trap and path. Forgiveness here will mean a full awareness of what happened but ready to walk the path of life (FT 236-245).
War and death penalty will never bring peace
War and death penalty will always be a threat to our common home despite at times they are legalized. More so, in this era of globalisation and digital technology there are people who suffer from them, whether near or far and directly or indirectly. When there is a war the only thing that is counted at the end of it all is how many One of the best things Pope Francis has given to Catholics and the world is this Encyclical LetterFratelli Tutti (Siblings All). This call to brotherhood and sisterhood stands out because the future of the world and the ecosystem is very much depending on it. This siblinghood is highly expected to be demonstrated by religious men and women since all religions invoke in the end the same God. Moreover, if God is our Father and He is our common denominator then we are all brothers and sisters. The symbol of this siblinghood can be taken as love, unity and peace and that is what the world needs now in order to heal. The Church wisely instituted in 1908 The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Fratelli Tutti came 112 years after the launching of the Prayer for the Christian Unity and the call is still as vivid as it was in 1908 and as urgent as never before.
Peace with conflict
Human beings as we are, even in the most peaceful moments, conflict can arise. It is part of life. Nevertheless, the desire to journey together and grow as human community urge us to seek resolution and bring back the lost peace because of conflicts. Such effort, if done in truth and openness, strengthens human relationship, and ties and the bond gets more resilient.
The call of Fratelli Tutti’s invitation is timely as the Pope points out that the connection between peace and truth on one side and justice and mercy on the other are instrumental for our coexistence. We should never be moved by vengeance but a continuous seeking of reconciliation which makes our world a better place for all, even for those who do not share the same religion, faith, race and culture with us. A key element to this is forgiveness. Forgiveness that is not synonym of forgetting because should we forget, we fall back in the same trap and path. Forgiveness here will mean a full awareness of what happened but ready to walk the path of life (FT 236-245).
War and death penalty will never bring peace
War and death penalty will always be a threat to our common home despite at times they are legalized. More so, in this era of globalisation and digital technology there are people who suffer from them, whether near or far and directly or indirectly. When there is a war the only thing that is counted at the end of it all is how many people were killed or died and how many properties have been destroyed. The Pope writes: “Not even a murderer loses his personal dignity and God himself pledges to guarantee this (personal dignity)” (FT 263-269). We think of Yemen, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, D. R. Congo, Libya, Mali, etc… Now these threats have escalated to terrorism counting among them al Qaeda, al Shabaab, Boko haram, Islamic State and others. What is happening now Eastern Europe, between Russia, Ukraine and their allies is uncalled for. We offer our humble prayer for all the victims.
Jesus in his divine wisdom tells us “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt 5:9). It is as if Jesus is telling us believers (not only Christians) that the way through which we can be fully called children of God is to be peacemakers. We are children of the same Father, we are all siblings.
