A Brief Reflection on “The Meeting on Human Fraternity”
On 10 June 2023 St. Peter’s Square in Rome was host to the Meeting on Human Fraternity. Pope Francis had hoped to be there in person, but due to an ongoing recovery from a recent ailment he had to deliver his message to the attendees and the Roman Catholic Faithful via Cardinal Mauro Gambetti. The meeting was inspired by the Fratelli tutti Foundation, which is of course a foundation inspired by Francis’s most recent encyclical Fratelli tutti (All Brothers). The Meeting sought “to foster fraternity and social friendship among individuals and peoples as an antidote to the many forms of violence and wars around the world.” The initiative also produced a Declaration on Human Fraternity which received the contributions of approximately thirty Noble Peace Prize laureates.
The Declaration promotes three types of fraternity: spiritual, social, and environmental. It is the spiritual fraternity, inspired by All Brothers, that raises grave concerns for the Evangelical church. The Declaration begins by quoting Pope Francis: “We are diverse, we are different, we have different cultures and religions, but we are brothers and sisters and we want to live in peace.” The Declaration then states: “Every man is our brother, every woman is our sister, always.” It is not surprising that in this short Declaration Christ is never mentioned. June 10th’s declaration echoes the 2019 Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together which was signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Iman of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb. The document invokes God and assumes that both Pope Francis and Al-Tayyeb have the same god. Christ is of course completely absent.
Pope Francis is correct in saying that “we are diverse, we are different, (and that) we have different cultures and religions.” He is also correct in stating that we all want to live in peace and is right to advocate for peace. But is he correct in stating that we are all brothers and sisters? Is the Declaration on Human Fraternity correct in stating that every man is our brother and every woman our sister, always? If these statements are true, on what basis can such claims be made? The Evangelical basis for such claims is the divinely inspired and authoritative Word of God. With clear language the Bible states that spiritual brotherhood is formed by the shared confession that Christ Jesus is Lord and Savior and that in Him alone is there hope for forgiveness and salvation from our sins. It is this confession that breaks down the barrier between Jew and Greek and makes us all spiritual brothers and sisters (Romans 10:9-17; Acts 4:12).
If, however, Christ is not named, how can there be true spiritual brotherhood? How can we all be brothers and sisters? If every man is always our brother and every woman always our sister, it is an altogether different brotherhood/sisterhood than what the Bible envisions and proclaims. Furthermore, because Christ is central to the Gospel, if he is absent, it is an altogether different gospel, not that there is another gospel (Galatians 1). So, while the church should be an advocate for peace, and while there are initiatives that people of different religions can and ought to participate in together in pursuing peace, it is important that such initiatives do not confuse or corrupt the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is a risk, however, when God’s Word alone is not the ultimate measure of authority, which is the case in Roman Catholicism. For the Roman Catholic Church, while the Bible is a source of authority, it is not the only source. Authority is shared with Tradition and is often subservient to Tradition. In his 2010 Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini the late Benedict XVI stated that the Bible contains the divine word of God. God’s word, therefore, is not limited to Scripture but is also preceded by Tradition. Verbum Domini has as its inspiration Vatican II’s Dei Verbum (1965). Pope Francis’s All Brothers is the latest interpretation of Vatican II and Roman Catholicism’s understanding of Scripture, which is enveloped by Tradition. The Evangelical church ought to take note of this and understand what is at stake with statements such as the Declaration on Human Fraternity. It is not an anomaly, but consistently reflects Vatican II. Peace and fraternity are admirable endeavors, but not at the expense of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, Christ is nowhere to be found in this latest endeavor to promote human fraternity.