Introduction
I was consulted from various sides about my opinion of the new Encyclical “Fratelli Tutti”, and whether it is in line with Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church. I have agreed to write my point of view on it, although with a somewhat different approach from other commentators, since I do not consider myself a theologian. Moreover, in view of the publication of an official Church document that raises serious questions, I feel a duty to form my own judgement. The same has happened previously with other writings during this Pontificate.
On the part of the hierarchy, at least two critical voices have been raised with regard to this Encyclical, besides other Catholic faithful, who have also expressed serious doubts. This makes me realize that awakened consciences still exist, which cannot simply adopt everything that is said and written in this Pontificate.
I wish to make it clear that I, Elija, alone am responsible for this writing. I am not speaking on behalf of a community or a spiritual movement. I am trying to listen to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love and truth. I see myself as committed to him.
Brief summary of the text
In his encyclical “Fratelli Tutti”, Pope Francis wishes to offer a contribution on how a better world could be created for the future (FT 6), including in view of the current pandemic crisis (FT 7). In it, a universal brotherhood must prevail and paths of dialogue must be found, so that together we can find a solution to the many problems facing us.
This spirit of brotherhood among all people – whose foundation, for Pope Francis, is love – must be reflected in all areas of life, placing them in an order that serves man.
The Encyclical addresses “all people of good will” (FT 6), and considers religion in particular as instruments for a new orientation in the service of the common good (FT 271).
The Pope himself mentions his Christian background, which, moreover, is repeatedly shown in the examples he chooses. He speaks of faith as the source from which he draws nourishment; while members of other religions “drink from other sources” (FT 277).
Central themes for Pope Francis are the poor, the abandoned, the marginalized, the excluded… He would like to see them – as well as all people – included in a universal fraternal love. People must act as the “good Samaritan” and become such for others (FT 63-86). It is evident that the Pope’s heart is burning with this theme.
At the beginning of “Fratelli Tutti”, the Pope underlines that in this Encyclical he wants to gather and place in a wider context many of his thoughts related to fraternity and social friendship, expressed in various contexts (FT 5). For this reason, the writing is extensive and, in its eight chapters, is dedicated to different themes.
The Pope hopes that the spirit of fraternity and social friendship will not only be lived on a personal level, but that structures will be created in the fields of politics, economics, etc., which will serve man.
One can agree with many of Pope Francis’ reflections on and analyses of the present situation of humanity, many of whose problems he describes (FT 9-55). Unfortunately, however, the enormous injustice of abortion is underestimated in this context, even though it is one of the main evils of the “culture of death” in which we live. Similarly, there is little or no talk of the sexualisation of society – with all its aberrations – and gender ideology, which destroys the family.
My point of view
Unfortunately, in this Encyclical one can again identify what has been seen in some essential points of the Pontificate of Pope Francis. The spirit of discernment is lacking, which, although it is present in the natural realm – in which he distinguishes human realities with precision – is easily lost when it comes to the supernatural realm.
In his desire and human dream to integrate everything and not want to exclude anyone, thus helping to build a great, fraternal and united human family, the Pope overlooks certain truths that cannot be omitted without giving rise to a “selective view of reality”, which can be instrumentalized for one’s own ideas.
This last observation can be taken as a guideline when examining some of the problematic aspects of this Encyclical.
“Selective view of reality”
You can see this clearly already in the introduction to the document, and in looking at this you will understand what I mean when I speak of a “selective view of reality”.
Pope Francis refers to St. Francis of Assisi as the one who motivated the writing of this Encyclical Letter (FT 2). He then describes the meeting between the “Poverello” and the Sultan Malik-el-Kamil, stressing that the saint “did not wage a war of words aimed at imposing doctrines” (FT 4).
However, the Pope omits here the real reason why St. Francis undertook the journey to Egypt to see the Sultan: he wanted to convince him of the true faith; he preached to him at length, and was even willing to accept martyrdom for this cause[1].
But the Pontiff only alludes to this event from the point of view that is conducive to the realization of fraternal unity as he dreams of it. And into this dream a St. Francis with apostolic zeal, wishing to convert the Muslim ruler to the Christian faith, does not fit in.
Here there is a “selective view of reality”, inasmuch as the Pontiff mentions only one side of St. Francis, without reflecting that the “humble subjection” to which he alludes (FT 3) is rather to be interpreted in the sense of St. Paul, who wanted to become “all things to all people” in order to win them for Christ (cf. 1 Cor 9:19-23). Thus, “subjection” is instrumentalized for the purpose of dialogue, and presented as a model of fraternity among all people.
This is a re-interpretation of reality! The great love of St. Francis did not consist in renouncing the proclamation of the Gospel and replacing it with dialogue, but in considering evangelization as the primary and most essential thing.
The search for human solutions
Although the Encyclical repeatedly refers to the Christian faith, cites Sacred Scripture and bears witness to the Trinity, what the Pope proposes as a solution to the above-mentioned problems is defined in the first instance by human ideas and efforts.
Thus, the “more fair” and humane future of which Pope Francis speaks (FT 248) does not consist in the realization of the Kingdom of God, which is to come on earth above all through the mission of the Church, but in a humane society built by man, in which fraternal harmony is to reign.
As a result, this Encyclical does not echo the much-needed call to conversion,according to which people should turn to God in Jesus Christ, abandon sinful and wrong ways and strive to keep His commandments. In fact, it is essentially the transgression of God’s Commandments that gives rise to so many moral evils and evils on other levels. Whether it is John the Baptist (cf. Mt 3:1-2), Jesus himself (cf. Mk 1:14-15) or the Apostles (cf. Acts 2:38): the call to conversion was always present!
The first and unchanging mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel to all men (cf. Mt 28:19-20), so that they may receive salvation in Christ, the Kingdom of God may become present and we, living in the state of grace, may consciously cooperate in it. Nothing is more important!
But if this passes into the background and the primary intention of dialogue and the building of brotherhood is no longer said to consist in bringing people to Christ, then a deception occurs and the Church neglects her primary mission. Such a view does not take into consideration the reality that has emerged through the proclamation of Jesus, and thus her mission is deformed[2].
The Kingdom of God is built under the Reign of Christ
According to the Will of the Heavenly Father, everything is to be placed under the loving Kingdom of Christ (cf. Eph 1:10), including the social dimension of life. The Church is the instrument for this to be accomplished.
At the beginning of his Pontificate, on October 22, 1978, St. John Paul II reminded the world of this reality[3]:
“Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power. Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and with Christ’s power to serve the human person and the whole of mankind. Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To his saving power open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid. Christ knows ‘what is in man’. He alone knows it.”
God carries out His plan of salvation to unite people as brothers and sisters in His Spirit. Thus the “new fraternity” will emerge, willed by God, in which all peoples will be united and barriers will be overcome. For this to happen, however, the kingdom of Christ must first be announced to all people, so that they may receive the grace of redemption. It is not, then, that a “new humanity” (FT 127) must emerge through the cooperation of all people. Rather, the invitation of the Gospel to follow Christ must be accepted.
The Pope’s task is to proclaim Jesus Christ with authority, inviting people to follow him, so that a world and a society may emerge that is not born of “the will of man but of God” (Jn 1:13) and in which he exercises his reign of love. How could unredeemed man build a better world? Has he ever succeeded in doing so? This would simply be a “fraternity of blood” affected by original sin, and not that which proceeds from the Redeemer and arise among men renewed in Him.
The building of a brotherly world without the Kingdom of Christ, besides being an illusion, is an anachronism, when the Redeemer of all men has already come to this world and sown the Kingdom of God. So we also see in this document an omission of the primary message: that the Kingdom of God has come, which manifested itself with Jesus and is developing through the Church. But if the Kingdom of Christ is not announced and does not become a reality, what will take its place? According to the Encyclical, it is [the kingdom of] men…
What is the spirit manifested in this Encyclical?
Without calling into question the positive aspects of “Fratelli Tutti”, we must ask ourselves, applying the spirit of discernment, what is the spirit that is at work here, since, in his writing, the Pope does not announce the Kingdom of God; rather, he places himself and the Gospel at the service of a new fraternal humanity that must be built up.
So it is not about the glorification of Christ. Rather, Christ’s position as Saviour and Lord is already relativised by the fact that the Pope explicitly invokes the Document signed in Abu Dhabi (FT 5). As is well known, this document states that “pluralism and diversity of religion (…) are willed by God in His wisdom.”[4] This relativizes the Reign of Christ!
Unfortunately, therefore, the Encyclical is also permeated by a spirit of subtle deception, citing contents of the faith and alluding to objectives with which every Catholic can agree. At the same time, the goals that are proposed are, in a way, wrested from their source in the Reign of Christ, since they are not to be realized through His grace and by our conscious cooperation with it, but through man himself. In that sense, a subtle dethronement of the Lord can be perceived, while man and his actions are put in His place.
Behind this enthronment of man, the one who is at work, very hidden, is Lucifer, the one who always tries to minimize the importance of Christ. Before the people of the Church, he will certainly find it suitable to hide his goals behind a religious mask. Thus, he deceives them with a false light: There must arise the vision of a universal human community, without borders, where all are brothers, where peace reigns, where all injustice is eradicated and no one is excluded, etc. The Church, the other religions and the international institutions must cooperate in brotherly union for the building of such a kingdom, which will also need a global government. Existing differences will contribute to wealth and conflicts will be resolved through dialogue…
Lucifer manages to deceive the heads of the Church, presenting this vision as an inspiration of the Holy Spirit and thus winning them to this “great plan”. However, this dream of a paradise-like state is an illusion and, in a way, a deceptive imitation of the Kingdom of God. A true kingdom of peace can emerge only under the rule of God (cf. Jn 14:27), when people are converted to Him and receive Redemption. But since this condition is obscured, the action of the fallen angel can be identified, of which neither the Pope nor those who follow his line are obviously aware. Utopian dreams, which even arise with Lucifer’s cooperation, will probably end in nightmares.
There is even the danger that these ideas could be used by a coming Antichrist as a manifesto, to get religious people on his side.
Therefore, it must be stressed once again, that if the Church no longer proclaims the Gospel as the only way chosen by God for all men, if she no longer clearly and unreservedly testifies to the Reign of Christ, if the call to convert to God no longer resounds, then it is a “different spirit” (cf. 2 Cor 11:4) that is at work in the Church, to strip her of her mission. Of this we must give clear warning!
In Mexico we have a magnificent example of the true Gospel at work: Many converted to the true faith after the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and then made up a people! The sweet Reign of Mary conquered their hearts and led them to her Son. Today, too, God wants to lead the people to Jesus, because He alone is the way, the truth and the life (cf. Jn 14:6). We Catholics are aware that the Virgin Mary is deeply involved in this plan of salvation. And she repeats to us all that she exclaimed at the Wedding of Cana: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). To His own, Jesus entrusted the proclamation of the Kingdom of God (cf. Lk 9:2). This is our constant mission!
As soon as he was elected, Pope Francis asked the faithful to pray for him, and he has done so repeatedly. Now it is more necessary than ever, since the course he has taken with the Church is more than confusing and misleading on essential points.
I would therefore like to conclude this commentary with an extract from a prayer contained in an ancient monastic breviary, which is prayed at the end of Lauds to ask for the intercession of all the saints:
“We ask you, Lord, to protect us from every danger of body and soul, and, through the intercession of the blessed, glorious and ever-virgin Mary, and of St. Joseph (…), grant us benignly Thy favor and Thy peace, so that Thy Church, having overcome all adversities and errors, may serve in sure freedom. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.”
Come Lord Jesus, Maranatha!
[1] St. Bonaventure, Legenda Maior, 9,8
[2] The reality inaugurated by the Incarnation of the Son of God is the only one that makes possible the true fraternity and unity among men. The mission of the Church is to proclaim this Jesus, and thus to foster this brotherhood.
[3] John Paul II., Homily for the inauguration of his Pontificate, 22 October 1978: http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1978/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19781022_inizio-pontificato.html
[4] Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb: A document on human fraternity for world peace and living together (4 February 2019)