In his third encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (All Brothers), Pope Francis has drawn both praise and ire from across the political spectrum. Political violence, worldwide lockdowns due to COVID-19, and the coming election make for an interesting atmosphere for this encyclical attempting to build on the social teaching of the Catholic Church.
In this, the longest encyclical ever released, Pope Francis had plenty of room to discuss pressing issues, and many commentators have greeted this encyclical with absurd claims that the pope’s writing demonstrates his commitment to globalism and socialism.
It’s not uncommon for commentators in the United States, who are by and large economic liberals of one stripe or another, to misunderstand the social teaching of the church. Popes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries made it abundantly clear that socialism, even a moderate form, is condemned by the church.
At the same time, economic liberalism came in for harsh criticism as well. This perhaps confusing pair of condemnations has continued through the 20th and into the 21st centuries. Fratelli Tutti is consistent with previous encyclicals though it is colored, as all encyclicals are, by the pope’s choices of the most important issues we face.
Fratelli Tutti is primarily concerned with the position of the poorest and least-influential countries in the world. Pope Francis has harsh words for countries that have attempted to impose their cultures on others, primarily through foreign policy and nation-building. The neoconservative foreign policy establishment of the U.S. is one obvious target of his criticism with their attempts at creating nations out of whole cloth and the subsequent fallout over the past several decades.
Pope Francis makes it clear that each nation should preserve its cultures and that an attempt by anyone to obliterate the unique aspects of each nation’s cultures is not a genuine attempt at solidarity. Many on the left who believe Western culture is inherently evil should pay special attention to these words of Pope Francis.
Though it will likely irk many who read the encyclical with the “Francis is a globalist socialist!” line firmly ingrained in their psyche, Pope Francis blames the weakening influence and cultural decline of countries squarely on international financial interests. His solution is a reformed United Nations or other such body that could effectively enforce the rule of law on countries that benefit from the actions of international finance to the detriment of poorer or less influential countries.
The pope is clearly concerned about the plight of many in war-torn countries who have been displaced by the violence visited upon them by neoconservative foreign policy. Pope Francis calls us to openness and, while he acknowledges the need for prudent decision making on the part of politicians to protect their own citizens, he asks the wealthier countries of the world to accept more migrants from these areas and to contribute more to efforts that improve economic conditions of poorer countries and those weakened by war. The latter, he says, will reduce the need for migration, which is sometimes harmful to both countries.
Of particular interest to political commentators in the U.S., Brazil, and a few other countries is the pope’s discussion of populism. Those afflicted with “Trump Derangement Syndrome” are likely to snicker while reading these paragraphs and thinking of our president, but it seems that Francis is on board with many of President Trump’s policies. Though Pope Francis condemns populism insofar as it usurps the laws and institutions of the country, appeals to the most selfish inclinations of the population, or exploits the culture to maintain a grip on power, Trump has been a major thorn in the side of the neoconservative policy establishment Pope Francis condemns.
Surely the patterns of political donations of the moneyed elite in the U.S. are evidence enough to convince an unbiased observer that Trump’s foreign policy has frustrated them. His insistence on a U.N. funded more equally by the wealthy countries of Europe is also a step in the direction of reforming that body to align more with the interests of all countries rather than only the moneyed elite in the U.S.
A careful reading of this encyclical indicates that Pope Francis is not the globalist, socialist bogeyman so many claim he is. The pope must take a worldwide view; this is no easy task, and it may be hard for those of us in wealthy, powerful countries to hear from him when he criticizes the institutions in our nation. Fratelli Tutti encourages us to preserve our nations and our cultures and to look with brotherly love to those who would do the same were it not for the actions of some of the most powerful institutions in our international order.
Levi Russell is an assistant teaching professor at the Brandmeyer Center for Applied Economics at the University of Kansas and a fellow at the Leonine Institute for Catholic Social Teaching. You can email him at [email protected].
