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Pope Francis celebrates Mass in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis
Photo: Divisione Produzione Fotografica / dpa
The Vatican has published a new circular from Pope Francis.
The encyclical is entitled "Fratelli tutti - On brotherhood and social friendship".
In it, the head of the Catholic Church urges fairer politics and more social cohesion.
He also warns against nationalistically motivated ignorance.
"Untimely conflicts break out that were believed to have been overcome. Stubborn, exaggerated, angry and aggressive nationalisms are reviving," said the Pope.
For decades it would have looked like "that the world would have learned from so many wars and catastrophes and slowly move towards various forms of integration".
It is the third encyclical by the 83-year-old Argentine.
Francis signed the 150-page social encyclical on Saturday after a mass in the pilgrimage city of Assisi in Umbria, the birth and death city of its namesake, St. Francis of Assisi.
It was the Pope's first trip since the beginning of the corona pandemic - a symbolic gesture to emphasize the importance of the encyclical.
In the paper, Francis admits that his church was too late in condemning slavery
The Argentine stated that the aim of the newsletter was to "bring to life in everyone a worldwide striving for brotherhood".
He therefore calls for more justice and ethics in politics and among people.
He explicitly named migrants and the elderly as groups that should not be disadvantaged.
The religions also have to approach each other more.
Because "God's love is the same for everyone, regardless of their religion".
In the encyclical the Pope refers several times to a document from 2019 ("The brotherhood of all people - For a peaceful coexistence in the world").
Francis signed it in February 2019 together with the Grand Imam of Cairo, Ahmed al-Tajib, in Abu Dhabi.
This is a high Islamic dignitary.
In the paper, Francis also admits that his church condemned slavery too late.
He grieves that it "took so long for the Church to emphatically condemn slavery and various forms of violence," he writes.
Corona as a global tragedy
The Pope sees the pandemic as a global tragedy.
However, the corona crisis has raised awareness that the world is in the same boat.
He had started work on his encyclical beforehand, but the pandemic made some things clearer.
Since his start as Pope in 2013, Francis has already written two other encyclicals: in the inaugural year ("Lumen fidei - Light of Faith") and in 2015 the "Environmental Encyclical" on climate protection ("Laudato si - About Caring for the Common House") .
Protest by women in the church
The Vatican announced some time ago that the text "Fratelli tutti" would appear in October.
At that time, the title was provisionally translated into German as an address to "All Brothers".
That had quickly caused displeasure among women in the church.
They didn't feel included.
Now the German version often speaks of "brotherhood", not so much of "brotherhood".
And the main title remained Italian.
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Löw / dpa