By Most Rev. Prakash Mallavarapu
Archbishop of Visakhapatnam
Tutti Fratelli, all are brothers, is the title of the latest encyclical of the Holy Father Pope Francis released on 4th October, 2020, Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. The addressee is the Church as well as the entire world. As the title indicates the main message is about fraternity and social friendship, brotherhood and sisterhood, among all the human beings which need to be promoted and sustained by all – individuals, communities of faith, religions as a whole, political leadership, economists, social scientists, etc. All through the encyclical the voice of deep concern is felt for the human suffering that is still such a wide spread naked reality of today’s society across the nations.
As Christian believers do we have to be told again about fraternal love and friendship? Well, we need to be told, it looks like, because we keep becoming forgetful of the love command from our God and from Jesus Christ Our Lord. Is not Christmas all about this love, God loves us, and God wants us to love Him and love one another. Self consciousness and self promotion can be limiting us or even incapacitate us to live in fraternal love and friendship. We will do well to pray and take concrete steps to expand our hearts to people around us in fraternal love and friendship, for all are brothers and sisters, “tutti fratelli.” Saint Francis of Assisi who considered everyone and everything in creation as brothers and sisters shows us the way!
Human being at the center of the every human endeavor
Human person, every man and woman, with due dignity and honor, respect and recognition, with all the rights and privileges that are fundamental for a decent and dignified life should be at the center of all the activities and transactions in a given society. It is not sufficient that these are enshrined in the constitution of a given nation or of international organizations like the United Nations Organization, UNO. The nations across should so order the policies and decisions that these get translated into concrete expressions and actions in the real life of people, of all people for that matter.
The Encyclical calls for a global vision and a localized plan of action about every aspect of human life facilitated by governmental and non-governmental organizations, personnel and administrative structures. There is a passionate appeal that runs through the whole encyclical to all the people of good will, more specially, to those in responsible and decision making positions, be it in politics, economics, bureaucratic set up in the state, distribution system of welfare schemes, etc. And the appeal is that the well being of each individual person and every human community should experience of being fraternal love and friendship in the given society at micro and macro levels.
Church as a community of believers is all the more obliged to live in fraternity and solidarity, not only as social responsibility towards others but as a way of living with others, in the Church and outside the Church. Christian faith that demands this of every believer. To drive home this point in the present day socio-cultural, economic and political atmosphere, Pope Francis puts forward his reflections on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’, “a stranger (foreigner) becoming a neighbor to a stranger!”
There has been visible expression of our becoming neighbors to the strangers and strangers becoming brothers and sisters!
During the “Covid-19 Pandemic” lockdown period there was commendable response to the disadvantaged. We all saw during the pandemic Covid-19 how helpless, insecure and inadequate each of us is. No one and no part of the world was spared from the experience of insecurity, fear, anxiety, and helplessness brought by this life threatening Corona virus. But, some sections of our society, like the migrant workers, daily wage earners, unorganized labor, temporary employees in the private sector, people having small businesses, etc. were the worst hit during the prolonged lockdown period.
A real challenge was the plight of the “migrant workers” in the big and small cities across our country. They suddenly found totally abandoned, unemployed and helpless. The saving factor was the overwhelming generous response towards the poor and the needy, especially the migrant workers and displaced working class. The government as well as the general public manifested tremendous generosity towards the needy and suffering: distribution of cooked food, food grains, clothes, providing shelter in the institutions, distribution of masks, sanitizers, etc. Our health care providing centers, hospitals and dispensaries jumped into action to be part of the national drive to combat the Corona Covid-19 virus.
Tomorrow: Fratelli Tutti – COVID-19 Helped Us to Show Neighbourly Love