A Big Heart Open to God: Notes on the Legacy of Pope Francis

Ingeborg G. Gabriel is a professor emerita at the University of Vienna.

The title of this post refers to the first interview Pope Francis gave, in August 2013, in which he stated the basic intentions of his pontificate. I happened to be in Rome when he was elected and vividly remember the moment the new pope stepped on to the balcony, greeting everyone with a warm “buona sera.” This first self-presentation, as well his chosen name, signaled an agenda that has unfolded during his 12 years in office. The decision to reside in the Guesthouse Santa Marta—at the time much commented on—was another landmark choice signaling his approach. A Pope in the cafeteria carrying a tray with his dinner? This represented a fresh, liberating style to many and a scandal to others, who feared it may tarnish the image of the papacy. Despite such criticism, a bon mot began circulating: John Paul II listened, Benedict taught, and Francis touches the heart.

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Commemorating the International Day of Human Fraternity: An Invitation to “Live Together in Diversity” and in “a Spirit of Fraternity”

Elena López Ruf is a lawyer who teaches philosophy of law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina and “Religion and the Global World” at Austral University. This post is based in part on her chapter “Religious Freedom, Human Security, and Human Fraternity: Is Religious Freedom a Forgotten Freedom Within the Human Security Framework?” in Security, Religion, and the Rule of Law: International Perspectives (Routledge 2023).

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

—Article I, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

On 21 December 2020, the General Assembly of the United Nations, during its 75th plenary session, established that 4 February be dedicated as an annual International Day of Human Fraternity. The U.N. resolution recognizes the contribution of people of all religions or beliefs to humanity and the importance of promoting inter-religious and intercultural dialogue “to enhance peace and social stability, respect for diversity and mutual respect and to create, at the global level, and also at the regional, national and local levels, an environment conducive to peace and mutual understanding.”[1]

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Fratelli tutti: A Series of Reflections

Dmytro Vovk, Director of the Center for the Rule of Law and Religion Studies at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University and co-editor of Talk About: Law and Religion

In October 2020, Fratelli tutti, Pope Francis’s new encyclical was released. This 287-paragraph document provides a Catholic perspective on a variety of questions from human dignity and political integration from the lack of public trust and peacemaking to the death penalty and fake news. Talk About: Law and Religion posts a series of theological and philosophical reflections on Fratelli tutti.

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