An encyclical (from the Greek egkyklios, kyklosis meaning a circle), is simply a letter from the Pope letter to the Church, though it is for anyone who wants to hear it.

Pope Francis has delivered a new encyclical ‘Fratelli tutti’, a message to the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics and people of goodwill everywhere, which aims to soothe the fear caused by the coronavirus pandemic and unite communities riven by racism, inequality and climate change.

Quickly becoming known as the COVID-19 encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (All Brothers [and Sisters]) was signed on October 3 in Assisi, central Italy, the eve of the feast of St Francis of Assisi (4 Oct). It is the third encyclical since Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio took the name ‘Francis’ on his election to the papacy in March 2013. He has always wanted to make it clear that his papacy is one of action – placing the needs of the poor, marginalised and disenfranchised at the centre of his ministry.

As a community of believers, Pope Francis expects Catholics to mobilise and become agents for change in the world. This action is based on the canon of Catholic social teaching, built up since the late 19th century, which was, until recently, known as the church’s best kept secret”.

Francis wants to make sure that Catholics put that teaching into action by providing a road map for change – and, in doing so, invites all people of goodwill to join him. While Laudato Si’ (Praise to You, 2015) implored the world to “care for its common home”, Fratelli Tutti offers is devoted to the concepts of fraternity and social friendship based upon the example of St Francis of Assisi, who “wherever he went … sowed the seeds of peace and walked alongside the poor, the abandoned, the infirm and the outcast, the least of his brothers and sisters”.

(Taken in part from an on-line article in The Conversation, 6 Oct 2020.)

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