On Social Friendship

The title for this inspirational piece comes directly from Pope Francis’ most recent encyclical.  When I say “recent,” that would mean yesterday!  The Pope entitles this encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, which is Italian for “brothers all,” even though clearly the Pope means brothers and sisters all.  In some ways it is unfortunate that the Pope did not use a gender-neutral term to address “all of humanity.”  This has caused a little consternation even among Catholics in the time leading up to its publication.  I know many will say what’s the big deal, but as a husband and father of two daughters, I hate for them to have “to understand” they also are included.  

Obviously, the Italian word, Fratelli, sounds a great deal like our English word, fraternity.  Indeed, it should because a fraternity is a social unit of brothers.  We also know about sororities and those are for the women.  Effectively, the Pope is addressing the entire world as it is both a fraternity and sorority---as a unified group of human beings.  It does not matter that I am not a Catholic; I can still see myself in the document and hope you, too, can see yourself.  In God’s eyes surely we are all brothers and sisters.

The word “encyclical” literally means a “circular letter.”  It is global and addresses global issues.  I want to look at the beginning of the circular letter and intend in the following days to look at more of the contents.  My hope is to raise the awareness of all of us.  If there are 1.2 billion Catholics in the world (yep, that’s correct!), then somewhere between one in three or four people in the world is a Catholic.  For a Quaker, I can tell you, that is mind-numbing!  We ought to know something about a document that is the highest level a Pope can publish.

Appropriately, the Pope opens with some words and thoughts of Saint Francis of Assisi, the thirteenth saint after whom the Pope is named.  In fact, the opening words, Fratelli Tutti, are from the saint himself.  The Pope says, “With these words, Saint Francis of Assisi addressed his brothers and sisters and proposed to them a way of life marked by the flavour of the Gospel.” (1:1)  This is an important opening sentence and reveals the purpose of the papal encyclical.  The Pope is encouraging us all to consider “a way of life” and then actually to live it.  The way of life is flavored by the gospel.  That is the gospel way of life in which Jesus lived- to which he called each and all of us.

As we read further, we know that the Pope is detailing what this way of gospel living means.  I am not surprised the focus on love.  In fact, the second sentence of the document heads that direction.  “Of the counsels Francis offered, I would like to select the one in which he calls for a love that transcends the barriers of geography and distance, and declares blessed all those who love their brother ‘as much when he is far away from him as when he is with him.’”  Again, the Pope is quoting Saint Francis in the Saint’s work, Admonitions.  On a side note, it is beginning to be easy to see why our current Pope chose the name, Francis.

So the gospel way of living is all about love.  Fair enough and not surprising, we might be saying.  But notice how the Pope already begins to detail what kind of love he is talking about and that he wants us to incorporate in our lives.  It is a love that transcends barriers of geography and distance.  Immediately, what popped into my mind was the borders we build on the margins of “our” country.  Of course, we think about it is our country.  But in the eyes of God, I am far less sure.  

The Pope does not deal in this place with the thorny issue of migration and immigration.  As I type this, I am very aware of our current attempt to build a bigger, more daunting wall on our southern border.  Because it is quite far from where I am writing this, I don’t have to think about it nor deal with it.  And yet, it is easy for me to remember only recently ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) rounded up dozens of immigrants---some indeed illegal--- and deported them from the county next to my home.  Almost all of them were working low-paying, hard jobs that most Americans will not do.

I am not suggesting I know the answer.  I do want to side with the Pope and with Jesus and say I want to be guided by a gospel way of living.  What is the most loving thing to do in any situation is often quite difficult to discern?  But we need to be clear about our commitment.  

I like the papal admonition to declare blessed all those whom we love---whether near or far away.  I want to commit to this love ethic, even though in any given situation, I may not clearly know what that means.  But I know my doctor daughter operates under the Hippocratic Oath, which in part says, “first, do no harm.”  Whatever love means, that surely is a good starting place.  In this sense we can all be doctors of the Spirit committed to the gospel way of a loving life.

That is the beginning of social friendship.