Human Fraternity - Justice, Peace, Solidarity

It is the New Year, a time that marks beginnings, and it also coincides with the end of the Christmas season and the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. Scripture records that as Christ emerged from the waters of the Jordan, “the heavens were opened, and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove, and the voice of the Father thundered: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3:16-17). This feast celebrates the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. A ministry which was to embrace all peoples despite their status, the circumstances of their life, the culture, and conditions in which they live. Through our baptism we share in this call, this mission of service through the continued outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who can renew our strength, courage, and fortitude in the midst of the challenges we currently face with the pandemic.

The New Year also brings with it the celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from January 18 to 25 and the International Day of Human Fraternity on February 4. The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2022 is, “We saw the star in the East, and we came to worship Him” (Mt 2:2).  The theme speaks to the pressing need globally for solidarity and fraternity in the face of economic, political, and social turmoil, including the challenges and injustices which the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted. This celebration will be an opportunity to pray for the unity that God desires for all of creation.  It is this unity of persons which sows the seeds of mutual understanding that inspires justice, peace, and solidarity.

On December 21, 2020, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/75/200 declaring February 4 as the International Day of Human Fraternity. It is now observed annually in order to heighten our awareness and focus upon human fraternity, solidarity, justice, and peace.  It is significant that the evolution of thought and work toward this resolution included Pope Francis and came as the result of Christian-Muslim cooperation. The Higher Committee for Human Fraternity provided the UN Chief with a message from Pope Francis and the Grand Imam, proposing that February 4 be designated as the annual International Day of Human Fraternity.

The UN resolution included three clauses specifically directed toward the religions of the world:
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• Expressing deep concern at those acts that advocate religious hatred and thereby undermine the spirit of tolerance and respect for diversity, especially at a time when the world confronts the unprecedented crisis caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which requires a global response based on unity, solidarity and renewed multilateral cooperation,
  
  
• Recognizing the valuable contribution of people of all religions or beliefs to humanity and the contribution that dialogue among all religious groups can make towards an improved awareness and understanding of the common values shared by all humankind,
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• Underlining the importance of raising awareness about different cultures and religions or beliefs and of education in the promotion of tolerance, which involves  the acceptance by the public of and its respect for religious and cultural diversity, including with regard to religious expression, and underlining further the fact that education, in particular at school, should contribute in a meaningful way to promoting tolerance and the elimination of discrimination based on religion or belief, …

These values of tolerance, respect, engagement, dialogue, and understanding which are articulated in the resolution are also expressed with the depth of our Faith in the encyclical letter on fraternity and social friendship, Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis released on October 3, 2020.

The Higher Committee of Human Fraternity met at the Vatican, Sep. 11, 2019. Photo: Vatican Media.

Our mission through baptism is to recognize in one another the sacred dignity we have as a son and daughter of God.  It is this type of dignity that Pope Francis describes as foundational to our relationship with one another.

​For Christians, the words of Jesus have an even deeper meaning. They compel us to recognize Christ himself in each of our abandoned or excluded brothers and sisters (cf. Mt 25:40.45). Faith has untold power to inspire and sustain our respect for others, for believers come to know that God loves every man and woman with infinite love and “thereby confers infinite dignity” upon all humanity. (Fratelli Tutti, 85.)

When this recognition of each other’s dignity is present, Pope Francis describes the sense of fraternity and solidarity that is fostered, a fraternity which cannot overlook the sufferings or injustices of another person.

The world exists for everyone, because all of us were born with the same dignity. Differences of colour, religion, talent, place of birth or residence, and so many others, cannot be used to justify the privileges of some over the rights of all. As a community, we have an obligation to ensure that every person lives with dignity and has sufficient opportunities for his or her integral development. (FT, 118.

Pope Francis speaks to the people, the generation of this time to urge a fraternity among all people rooted in the recognition of each person’s dignity.

It is my desire that, in this our time, by acknowledging the dignity of each human person, we can contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity. Fraternity between all men and women. … (FT, 8.

​Let us join together in praying for that universal aspiration to social fraternity.

Written by Most Rev. William T. McGrattan, Bishop of Calgary

​Jan. 10, 2021