Communicating Transcendent Love: Interpersonal Encounter and Church–State Transitions in Fratelli tutti

Communicating Transcendent Love: Interpersonal Encounter and Church–State Transitions in Fratelli tutti

This essay analyzes Pope Francis’ social teaching on relationality within his 2020 encyclical letter Fratelli tutti [Brothers all]. The relationship between the Church and modern nation-states is an important macro-level social dynamic, and Francis explains it by placing Church–State relations into...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religions (Basel, Switzerland ) Vol. 13; no. 6; p. 532
Main Authors: Radwan, Jon P., Alfani, Roger B.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-06-2022
Subjects:
christian communication
Christianity
Church & state
Communication
contact rhetoric
Dystopias
Francis (Pope)
Fratelli tutti
Genre
God
Holy See
International relations
Nation states
papal discourse
Peace
Political leadership
Political power
Popes
power
Religion & politics
Rhetoric
Spirituality
Violence
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Summary:This essay analyzes Pope Francis’ social teaching on relationality within his 2020 encyclical letter Fratelli tutti [Brothers all]. The relationship between the Church and modern nation-states is an important macro-level social dynamic, and Francis explains it by placing Church–State relations into a broader spiritual context of human communication and interaction. He articulates norms of fraternal contact growing from the bottom-up, that is, from interpersonal encounters through groups and movements on to countries and the United Nations. After a focused research question and discussion of critical method, this article offers a rhetorical critique of Fratelli tutti. To provide context, it explains the genres of Judeo-Christian and papal communication, Francis’ biography, and the immediate global context of his encyclical. Working within the text, this study details the Biblical foundations of his argument for “fraternity and social friendship” and shows how they are applied to global social media dystopia and accelerating migration/border crises. Conclusions include the utility of Francis’ contact terms in analyzing complex religio-political dynamics and their value in advancing peace.
ISSN:2077-1444
2077-1444
DOI:10.3390/rel13060532