Welcome to Monday. Pope Francis' new encyclical imagines a more caring society focused less on capitalism and wealth.

Pope's post-COVID encyclical envisions a less populist, less capitalist world

In Fratelli Tutti, a lengthy encyclical released yesterday, Pope Francis lays out a comprehensive vision for how the world should change after the coronavirus pandemic, imagining societies that are more caring, more focused on helping those in need and fundamentally less attached to the principles of market capitalism.

The pope addressed several topics including: trickle-down economics, the world's unfair distribution of wealth, continued use of the just war theory and the death penalty, and populist leaders who appeal to people's "basest and most selfish inclinations."

Fratelli Tutti is a nod to the familial bonds that connect all the world's peoples, and at times articulates viewpoints that might well align with a democratic socialist manifesto. It is also marked by a sadness and even indignation at the scores of people who have died during the pandemic for want of better distribution of health care resources.

"Once this health crisis passes, our worst response would be to plunge even more deeply into feverish consumerism and new forms of egotistic self-preservation," Francis writes in the opening chapter.

More background:

The moral and anthropological lessons the Holy Father draws in

Fratelli Tutti could scarcely be more relevant to the unique circumstances of the Catholic Church in the United States, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.
Living like Jesus means prioritizing relationship above all else, and in many ways the Franciscan tradition has, as the pope acknowledged, shaped the focus of Fratelli Tutti, writes NCR columnist Franciscan Fr. Daniel Horan.
Read Fratelli Tutti here.
All of our coverage of the new encyclical can be found here.

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Final thoughts

Join us on Facebook Live at 1:30 p.m. Central on Tuesday to talk about

Fratelli Tutti. NCR Vatican correspondent Joshua McElwee will be live with NCR opinion editor Olga Segura and NCR columnist Franciscan Fr. Daniel Horan to discuss Pope Francis' latest encyclical.

Until Tuesday,

Stephanie Yeagle

NCR Production/Online Editor

[email protected]

Twitter: @ncrSLY

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