How can we be brothers and sisters to all?

Pope Francis shows the way

Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv.

Many among us were pleased to see the difficult year of 2020 come to an end, and there is always a sense of hope and promise about what the new year may bring. Last January in these pages, I mused about the unknowns in store for us as a new year began — sure enough, unimaginable events unfolded.

As 2021 begins, we still find ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic, but the proximity of the vaccine and our greater understanding of how the virus spreads bring some measure of hope. We certainly have yet to overcome the polarization heightened by a difficult presidential election, but the beginning of a new administration comes with the hope of working together to make our country healthy and whole.

Each January, we observe the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that guarantees the legal right to an abortion. It is very important to keep raising our voices in defense of the unborn and calling attention to the tragedy and consequences of refusing to treat them as human beings sharing the image and likeness of God. We must also reinforce our efforts to support women experiencing pregnancies in the midst of difficult circumstances, pledging our material and physical assistance so that their choice of life can be supported. It is crucial that we support programs to lift children and families out of poverty and to enhance the safety net, as well as to make sure that health care is accessible and parental leave possible in the workplace.

Last October, during the month dedicated to reverence for life and on the feast of St. Francis, Pope Francis issued an encyclical urging the Church to lead the way to greater unity in the human family. Originally intended as an encyclical about interreligious dialogue and its necessity for the future of peace in our world, the Holy Father expanded its scope to call for a greater recognition of the inter-relatedness of all humanity as one family, which we celebrate in our Christian belief in the Incarnation of the Son of God.

St. Francis, whose vision and words gave the title to this encyclical, used to refer to Mary, the Mother of God, as “she who gave the Lord of Heaven to us as a brother.” With this understanding of the feast with which we begin our calendar year, both Francises call humanity to be Fratelli Tutti, that is, all brothers and sisters.

Pope Francis begins his encyclical lamenting that we did not grasp the global pandemic as an opportunity to draw together around the world and prevent infection and death while cooperating in finding a cure. Instead, we continued our ever-increasing divisions and witnessed the growth of what he had earlier called the “globalization of indifference.” As he has done throughout his papacy, Francis calls attention to the marginalized and emphasizes how the poor and discounted always suffer the most from tragedies of global dimensions.

Along with the materially poor and migrant populations, he acknowledges what is indisputable in our own country — that racial minorities suffer and die at greater proportions. He notes that the elderly, who have suffered many unnecessary deaths during this pandemic, are too often undervalued in society. Indeed, we heard voices from influential people suggesting that the loss of the sick and elderly was not such a tragedy; the strong and healthy would survive.

Francis invites us to re-read the familiar parable of the good Samaritan in light of the questions that introduce it in the Gospel of Luke: What must I do to gain eternal life? And who is my neighbor? Jesus highlights that it is a foreigner without status in society who gave the example of neighborliness, in contrast to the religious figures who passed by a man beaten up on the roadside and left for dead. The pope also pays attention to the collaboration of the innkeeper in caring for the wounded man: We need networks and systems of collaboration in order to be neighborly and to fulfill what is necessary to gain eternal life.

Not surprisingly, as the pope goes on to describe the kind of conversion necessary to create a more fraternal world, he states that a new kind of politics, a noble kind that enhances human dignity and works for the common good, is needed. This must transcend national boundaries and unite the human family globally. This should hardly be controversial for Christians, but we too easily dismiss it as impractical or impossible. Is that really an option for those who believe in the resurrection of Christ?

In January, we observe the birthday of the Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. (described as an inspiration in this encyclical) and in February we observe Black History Month. The encyclical calls racism a persistent virus. In this new year, let’s make it a point to pay attention to these annual events, no matter what our race, as we work towards the realization that we are indeed all brothers and sisters.

Read Pope Francis’ latest encyclical online:

English: www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html

Spanish: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/es/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html