We were delighted to welcome academics, practitioners and students, from across the UK and further afield, to our study and networking day on Friday 13 June.
The day was hosted by the London Jesuit Centre and introduced by St Hilda Chair of Catholic Social Thought and Practice, Professor Anna Rowlands. She focused on the importance of encounter within ‘Fratelli Tutti’, as well as the opportunities we had to encounter new people and new ideas during the day itself.
Videos from all the speakers will be available here shortly.
A better politics?
We began by reflecting on how ‘Fratelli Tutti’ can inform our approach to politics and how we engage with political realities, with perspectives from the trade union movement, community organising in the voluntary sector and a party political background.
Patrick O’Dowd, CEO of Caritas Salford, set the tone by reminding us that “a better politics is one that's truly at the service of the common good, one that makes room for everyone, including those who are most vulnerable. It shows respect for different cultures. Pope Francis describes politics as a noble vocation, not as a necessary evil, but an act of love and service that upholds high principles.”
Theological perspectives
With inspiration from three theologians, we dived deeper into what the encyclical has to say to us, and our world, today, five years on from when it was first published.
In her talk, Professor Suzanne Mulligan noted that in our current situation “we're witnessing the politics of the strongman. We're witnessing a politics that is based on humiliation…. The weak and the vulnerable are being left behind or we're being told they ought not be included anymore.”
And yet, inclusion, encounter and accompaniment are at the heart of ‘Fratelli Tutti’: “No one can experience the true beauty of life without relating to others and without having real faces to love. This is part of the mystery of authentic human experience.”
Reading the signs of the times
Throughout the day, there were opportunities to discuss and share ideas, and make connections with others, as well as pose questions and make comments to the speakers.
We closed with a final panel, reflecting on what we had heard during the day, what was missing, and where we might go next. Through the panel’s insights and comments from all participants, the growth of AI, attitudes to gender, the fragmentation of the workplace and other issues were discerned and examined as signs of the times.
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