Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti has a number of parallels with the African ethic of Ubuntu. Published in October 2020, the encyclical has drawn attention to the social consciousness on solidarity between different members of society based on social-interdependence. The African concept of Ubuntu largely refers to inter-connectedness within humanity and between its members, and… Read the full article
Pope Francis has dwelt at length on the “pastoral conversion” of the parish. In Evangelii Gaudium (EG), quoting Vatican II, he wrote, “‘Every renewal of the Church essentially consists in an increase of fidelity to her own calling […] Christ summons the Church as she goes her pilgrim way… to that continual reformation of which… Read the full article
When thinking of the Middle Ages, many will hold that the essence of asceticism was rejection of the world and complete condemnation of life lived in the world. This judgment is sometimes found in history books, but it is not entirely true. Suffice it to look at the few remaining letters of St. Francis of… Read the full article
He was cruelly killed on March 14, 1985, but his memory continues to be alive and a blessing to the people of the Northern Beqaa Valley, where he carried out his pastoral service and committed himself to social and economic improvement, giving all his strength for 10 years and finally, also his blood. At a… Read the full article
Eight years after his election, Pope Francis has written a new encyclical that brings together much of his previous teachings (cf. Fratelli Tutti, No. 5).[1] When he began his pontificate, the first idea Francis referred to was “fraternity.” He bowed his head in front of the people gathered in St. Peter’s Square and defined the… Read the full article
In recent years the Society of Jesus has been questioning how to serve the Lord and the Church in the social, political and economic context that the world has been experiencing during Francis’ pontificate. The starting point of our discernment – which has involved all Jesuit communities and all our apostolic works – is the… Read the full article
Splendor, drama, mystery: with these three words Pope Francis offers to the people of God and all persons of goodwill his post-synodal apostolic exhortation Querida Amazonia (Beloved Amazon), on the special synod for the Amazon, which took place in Rome, October 6-27, 2019.[1] With this synod, held at the heart of catholicity in Rome, the… Read the full article
To celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the apostolic letter Maximum Illud, Pope Francis declared October 2019 as an Extraordinary Month of Mission. This gives us cause to review the missiological journey that the Catholic Church has made from the promulgation of Maximum Illud in 1919 to the promulgation of Evangelii Gaudium in 2013, an apostolic… Read the full article
