Archbishop Eamon Martin encourages all to read Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis’ letter to all of humanity on fraternity and social friendship

Pope Francis’ third encyclical letter Fratelli Tutti (All brothers and sisters), a call to solidarity for all of humanity to live in fraternity and social friendship, was published after the Holy Father prayed the Angelus in Saint Peter’s Square, Rome, today, the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi.  Yesterday the Pope Francis signed the letter in Assisi, Italy, at the tomb of Saint Francis.

Archbishop Eamon Martin said, “I warmly welcome this timely and provocative message from Pope Francis which reminds us so powerfully of the message of love that is at the heart of the Gospel – a love which reaches out to all of our ‘brothers and sisters’ who share our common humanity.

“I am conscious that Pope Francis wrote this encyclical during a global pandemic, a time which is reminding us not only of our connectedness around the world but also of our fragility, our shared vulnerability and common need for compassion and love and for the hope that faith in God can bring. 

“Pope Francis has a real gift for opening up and reflecting on the Word of God – he loves to select a passage from Scripture and ‘meditate out loud’ on what God’s Word is saying to us.  This time he chooses the challenging Parable of the Good Samaritan and he slowly ‘breaks open’ the wisdom and teaching of that Parable for today. Yes, we might agree, we are all ‘brothers and sisters’; we are all neighbours sharing this planet.  But, ‘Who is my neighbour?  Who is my brother?  Who is my sister?’ 

“Pope Francis reminds us of how his namesake, Saint Francis, answered this question.  He ‘heard the voice of God, he heard the voice of the poor, he heard the voice of the infirm and he heard the voice of nature.  He made of them a way of life.’ 

“In Fratelli Tutti Pope Francis therefore makes a special appeal in the name of justice and mercy for the orphan, the poor, the stranger, the migrant, the refugee and all those on the ‘margins’, the ‘peripheries’ of life and society.  He envisages an ‘open world’ motivated by what he calls ‘social friendship’ and sincere hospitality towards others.  I find it particularly challenging when he mentions that ‘Some peripheries are close to us, in the city centres or in our families.’  This of course reminds us here in Ireland to consider who might be left out, who do we tend to shuffle over into the margins of society and perhaps try to forget? 

“I sometimes wonder about the impact on us of seeing a homeless person lying on our streets, or watching live pictures on the media of thousands of refugees huddled in camps, or starving children swatting away flies from their faces – how easily we can ‘shift our gaze’, feel sorry for them but never really question our own values, lifestyle, attitudes?  This dilemma is at the heart ofFratelli Tutti.  These days we speak about social distancing during the pandemic.  Perhaps the real social distancing is the way that the great majority of people in the world can get on with their lives seemingly oblivious or ‘anaesthetised’ to the tremendous suffering, inequality and neglect of the poor and the most vulnerable among us.  Solidarity with the poor and vulnerable, Pope Francis says, means looking into their faces, touching their flesh, sensing their closeness and trying to help them.  It never tolerates any assault on human life or the human dignity of any person. 

“As expected, therefore, Fratelli Tutti has a challenging message for political leaders and Church leaders about dialogue, mutual understanding and combined effort towards practical actions to make a difference in the world.  It encourages us to ‘pay attention to the global’ while also ‘looking to the local’, avoiding both global uniformity and local narrowness or narcissism. 

“We are called to have a ‘gaze transformed by charity’ which touches our hearts like the Good Samaritan and shows a preferential love to those in greatest need.  That gaze ‘is at the heart of the authentic spirit of politics’.  It ‘undergirds everything we do on their behalf.’ 

“Pope Francis’ questions to politicians might also be asked of all of us who are entrusted with leadership positions.  He says: ‘The real, and potentially painful, questions will be, ‘How much love did I put into my work?  What did I do for the progress of our people?  What mark did I leave on the life of society?  What real bonds did I create?  What positive forces did I unleash?  How much social peace did I sow?  What good did I achieve in the position that was entrusted to me?’

“Fratelli Tutti is a must read for everybody.  Pope Francis is addressing his new letter not only to Catholics but to all people of goodwill.  In terms of its theme it is a natural companion to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical letter Laudato Si, on care for our common home, which highlights our collective responsibility to manage natural sources and to sustain our God-given environment.  But today, at this time of global pandemic, Pope Francis’ calls us to love each other as God loves us by living the parable of the Good Samaritan every minute of every day.  Our civilisation is not omnipotent, so we need to respect the innate dignity of each other – from family to stranger – with love and practical support, so that the human race can flourish.

“I would also like to compliment the supplementary resources which accompany Pope Francis’ Fratelli Tutti, including a quick key (see below), an overview, slides, questions and answers, and a video.  These will go a long way to effectively disseminate the letter’s powerful message and help to inform a wide variety of audiences, including educational.  

Click here to access resources 

Message for Nagasaki Day by Archbishop Eamon Martin given at Saint Patrick’s Church, Pennyburn, Derry

“The development of atomic energy for war and the possession of atomic weapons is immoral and incompatible with our faith”

Archbishop Eamon

It was around this time seventy five years ago that an atomic bomb was detonated above the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Three days earlier another atomic bomb had devastated Hiroshima. Together these attacks caused more than two hundred thousand immediate deaths, and led in the years to come to tens of thousands of others who perished from direct injuries, cancers and other effects of radiation. The bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki seventy five years ago are still seen by many as among the worst examples of what we humans can do to each other. The devastation caused on the ground was unimaginable – last Tuesday’s horrific explosion that ripped through the port in Beirut, causing such terrible death and destruction, was small in comparison. And yet, several countries continue to hold, develop or test weapons of mass destruction which are capable of unleashing many times over the horrors of 1945.

Last November Pope Francis visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a pilgrim for peace. He passionately pleaded for an end to the development and threat of such armaments, including the use of the deterrence argument – that having such weapons helps to guarantee world security and peace.  He said “the possession of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction is not the answer”. Instead it fosters “a false sense of security sustained by a mentality of fear and mistrust, one that ends up poisoning relationships between peoples and obstructing any form of dialogue.” It is “incompatible” he said to try to build and sustain peace “upon the fear of mutual destruction or the threat of total annihilation.”

Pope Francis also strongly denounced the arms race pointing out that “in a world where millions of children and families live in inhumane conditions, the money that is squandered and the fortunes made through the manufacture, upgrading, maintenance and sale of ever more destructive weapons, are an affront crying out to heaven.”

In today’s readings at Mass we contemplate the presence of God, not in the earthquake wind and fire, but in the still, small voice spoken to Elijah out of the gentle breeze on Mount Horeb.

We hear the words of Jesus in the midst of the storm holding out his hand  to Peter who was losing confidence, encouraging him: ‘Do not be afraid, you of little faith‘. 

The palmist sings of justice and peace embracing, mercy and faithfulness meeting as he cries out ‘Let us see o lord your mercy and give us tour saving help’.

This week here in Derry we have laid to rest one of our greatest sons, the Nobel laureate John Hume who throughout his whole life urged people never to see violence as a way to solve differences and achieve aspirations.

On this Nagasaki day, it is worth reminding ourselves that the development of atomic energy for war and the possession of atomic weapons is immoral and incompatible with our faith in Christ the Prince of Peace. Pope Francis urges us to pray and work every day for the abolition of nuclear weapons, “for the conversion of hearts and for the triumph of a culture of life, reconciliation and fraternity.” And so we pray:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; 
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; 
Where there is injury, pardon; 
Where there is doubt, faith; 
Where there is despair, hope; 
Where there is darkness, light; 
And where there is sadness, joy. 

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console; 
To be understood, as to understand; 
To be loved, as to love; 
For it is in giving that we receive, 
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. 

Amen.