The Pope’s encyclical on Catholic Social Teaching, Fratelli Tutti, in addition to bearing the most intrinsically funny title to English speakers in the history of the Church, is also a rich and deep exploration of the Church’s social teaching that has been studiously ignored by an American MAGAfied Church at open war with that teaching. But there remain 7000 who have not bent the knee to MAGA (actually considerably more since more than half the Church refused the MAGA Koolaid) and they are busily working to obey and teach it. Among them are the good folks at Where Peter Is, which you should really bookmark and read every day to remind yourself of what the actual Church in union with Peter believes and practices. Here’s their Big Announcement of their new study guide, which you should rush right out and download for free!
Dear Friends,
Three years ago today, we published the very first post in the history of this website. When Paul Fahey, Pedro Gabriel, Brian Killian, and I launched Where Peter Is as a small group blog devoted to supporting the mission and vision of Pope Francis, we never imagined what would happen in the next three years
In that time, we have published the work of 54 contributors, including respected theologians, philosophers, and journalists. We have published essays and articles by priests, deacons, women, men, single and married laypeople, and those who are discerning vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. They come from all over the globe and together we share love for our faith and for the Successor of Peter. In addition, our podcasts have received high praise and a devoted following.
But what is a birthday without a gift?
It has been one of our goals to provide Catholics with catechetical resources and tools to help them learn the faith and about the teachings of Pope Francis. Therefore, I am very pleased to share with you a study guide for Pope Francis’s beautiful new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. It is a free resource and was created by contributors to Where Peter Is.
This project was spearheaded by Paul Fahey, who led a group of our contributors in writing and editing this resource. It is available as both a printable PDF and as an online, mobile-friendly web page.
We hope parishes, Catholic groups, and individuals will find this resource useful in their study, reflection, and discussion of Pope Francis’s great encyclical.
The key writers were Daniel Amiri, Paul Fahey, Meghan Fiebelkorn, David Lafferty, and Adam Rasmussen. In addition to the writers, Tobi Kozakewich, Marissa Nichols, and I helped with the editing. The original cover art is by Kristina Fahey (etsy.com/shop/PaintedSanctuary).
As a parish catechist, Paul recognizes the need for guides and tools that help make Church teachings accessible to Catholics everywhere. I am grateful for the work that he did in pulling together a team of volunteers to create this fantastic guide.
Many Catholics consider us to be an outlet that provides faithful and reliable analysis and commentary on the Church and the papacy. Just last month, papal biographer and collaborator Austen Ivereigh offered his assessment of our work:
You can learn far more about the thinking and the insights of this papacy in one article on Where Peter Is than in weeks of programming by the multi-million-dollar EWTN.
WPI is a garage start-up on a shoestring budget supported by a team of volunteer contributors. Yet because they take seriously the idea that the pope is anointed and to be trusted as a teacher of the faith, they have become superb and reliable mediators of the Francis papacy.
After my experience these past weeks at the hands of churnalists and papacy-blockers, I am ever more grateful for this kind of journalism of integrity, both inside and outside the Church.
Going forward, it is our hope that in addition to commentary and analysis, we will be able to provide you with more resources to help you in your faith journey.
It’s been an honor to work alongside my friends to help build up Where Peter Is. We are bonded together by our love of Pope Francis and our desire to serve the church, and I am so proud of what WPI has been able to accomplish.
Prayerfully,
Mike
Advertisement
23 Responses
I claim to be a native speaker of English, but I am scratching my head trying to figure out what is funny to an English speaker about Fratelli Tutti.
Because it makes everybody immediately think of ice cream and gelato flavors.
And Little Richard. Tutti Frutti, aw rooty.
Ha, exactly. Or Les Ballets Trockadero.
It sounds like tutti-frutti and makes me want ice cream.
Probably the more common reason is more low-brow: Think “toot” as kiddie euphemism for “flatus.”
Thank you both Mark and LinebyLine – I would never have thought of either. Perhaps I’m not much of an ice cream fan (nor of, um, other lower things) – or perhaps I just lack a sense of humour 🙂
As I always say about my German husband, Germans have no sense of humor. And that’s not funny.
@ line
Beans beans the musical fruit…
etc.
There is really no place to put it, but at least “Fratelli Tutti” gives me a bit of an opening. All men may be brothers, but there are a number of them I don’t want in my family. Or to know.
The horror continues. It hasn’t stopped, and it looks like it isn’t going to. Predators and their enablers. And apparently, pimps with bad habits.
https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2021/02/03/report-from-german-archdiocese-admits-nuns-once-sold-orphans-to-sex-predators/
@Ben, it’s so evil I can’t wrap my head around it. They probably killed some of them.
After Vatican II a lot of the Trads had a problem with the idea that *we* the people– are in fact *the Church*–not a dusty building, and not a throng of old creeps trying to save face, preserve power or launder money. No. Everybody. Sinners and saints and mixtures of both.
When the Friendly Atheist encourages us to “quit this criminal organization”, that’s like saying that we need to stop being who we are–Catholic–people who choose Christ, who want to follow him and partake of the sacraments he gave us to help us.
Antichrist is the antithesis of goodness. I’m not surprised that some priests are antichrists. Ground zero. Priests act “in persona Christi”. The nuns? Honestly, I’ve never heard of anything more depraved in my life. Women are usually nurturers by nature.
I’ve known some nasty catholics in my day. The pope talks about nasty catholics. The nastiest ones are often in positions of authority. The Church attracts certain types that are messed up in the head and heart–that crave the legitimacy and yes– cover of the priesthood.
@taco
Disgusting and horrifying doesn’t begin to cover it. Whether it was the nuns, the priests, the perverts, or the desire of the current hierarchy to make excuses for it, it is all beyond awful.
I know that the comments are pretty angry, and hemant’s recommendation was more for the “choir” than for anyone else. But we have been promised transparency for years, and the mud is no more transparent than it ever was. This one sounds even worse than last week’s Spanish jesuit report.
Surprisingly enough, I wouldn’t want you to leave the church, or indeed, any of the good Catholics who post here. I know you lovebyourchurch, and you are good people. but, The church will never change if all of the responsible and compassionate voices that keep telling it to change left.
I wish I had an answer to this as well. But I don’t.
The Friendly Atheist is an anti-theist swamp, and I wouldn’t pay them no never mind. In fact, I usually boycott that site over an incident some years ago. But I did follow Ben’s link, and now I can’t unread it.
@ neko
Sometimes it can be an antitheist swamp. Sometimes it is an anti-theist swamp for the sake of the swamp, sometimes because people have been badly hurt by religion and religious privilege. From my experience, though, most of the time it simply calls a cigar a cigar. And if you are as interested in the intersections of politics, sexuality, and religion, as I am, there is a great deal to be learned there.
And yes, that article was horrific.
Disagree. I was never at ease with Hemant Mehta, because it seemed to me he encouraged the formation of a cult of atheism that I find groundless. Since the only thing atheists share in common is a lack of belief in Gods or gods, I really wasn’t interested in Hemant’s advice on what atheists should do when the assembled say grace at Thanksgiving and other presumptuous forays into atheist protocol. If I wanted orthodoxy I would go back to the Catholic Church (which, in fact, I did for a while). I also found the relentless anti-theism oppressive, especially coming from a bunch of very New Atheists who just last week were Christian fundamentalists. I had been an atheist a long time and was taken aback by the intolerance and mean-spiritedness of the regulars there.
But since you ask, well no you didn’t, but I’ll say anyway. It might have been in 2016 or maybe after Trump got elected, I don’t remember. Somebody at Friendly Atheist posted a video of this handicapped guy in a wheelchair. I can’t remember what afflicted the guy, but he was debilitated enough to be wheelchair-bound. He was Christian and expressed his gratitude to Jesus, for what I can’t remember exactly what, but presumably for being a comfort and source of hope to him. Well the friendlies poured scorn on the guy and the upvotes racked up. It was appalling. What was the difference between this pile-on and Donald Trump mocking disabled reported Serge Kovaleski? It doesn’t matter that their cruelty was directed at the guy’s religion rather than his disability, since the two were bound up in the man’s witness. IIRC I said Hemant should take down the post, but after a few days it was still there, so I’ve pretty much boycotted Friendly Atheist ever since.
*for what I can’t remember exactly
whatGroan.
@ neko
I can understand that. I agree, it does sometimes go over the top, and former fundamentalists are still fundamentalists who are simply former
Oh my god. I just can’t.
@Ben,
We took the first steps by targeting our $ donations to very specific causes.
The year before we stopped paying for catechism.
Fascinating that our pastor here won’t look at us anymore. He used to try to act like he was civil, but he doesn’t even go through the motions anymore. He’s so pissed off. He wouldn’t even greet us after being gone for so long. We have known him for over 12 years! He was supposed to be transferred but threatened to quit if they moved him. The priests down south were the opposite. They were delighted to see us again, and really cared when they asked us how everyone was. They love seeing the kids. Kids are proof that the Church isn’t dying.
The priest here came from so much family dysfunction…beatings…the grandfather they smothered..the one that tried to blow up the family home with the family inside(!)…the bullying… I doubt he is lying but the man is *missing* something. He is literally incapable of empathy. He tells those stories to manipulate the emotions of his congregation but it’s an act, he is cold, sarcastic, and mocks the faults of others. They are supposed to catch that personality type in the seminary!
A friend that works for the parish asked us why we stay. It’s hard–but it’s our neighborhood church! We have gone there for over 20 years. What a change from the nice old guy that was there before him. He was lovely. This man’s ego is so all encompassing in the church space I constantly have to reorient myself to find Jesus. The best priests conduct light–Christ. The worst ones have an insatiable thirst to be at the center of attention. To be admired and fawned over. They become butthurt and sullen at the slightest perceived slight.–Most of the time there is no slight at all but they think it’s one because their huge ego is so fragile. (Vigano! :/)
Thankfully 99% of the priests who have known, loved and served our family haven’t been narcissists. Most are just middle-of-the road-normal. Admirable for their steadfast service.The egotists are highly disturbing. A living oxymoron of “in persona Christi”.
You know that vibe that Trump would give off when he would say that he was “pro-life”? It was repulsive. Most of his supporters were willing to wink and settle for the bargain.
I won’t bargain with that.
@ taco
I’m not getting notifications from WordPress for some reason, so I didn’t see this comment. it reminds me of the priest I wrote about last week, the one that was in the “senior living community“ where one of my dear friends lives now. He was as nasty to the staff at the home as he was to photographers at his church. Most of the people I know just preferred not to work at his church for that reason. He reminded me of a line from an obscure Peter Sellers movie called “the great McGonagle”. Sellers played most of the akn characters in the movie. His great line was, “I am the queen, and I am very big in England.”
Last week, somebody whom I basically kicked out of my life six or seven years ago tried to make another appearance. He does this every few years. He suffered a lot of abuse when he was a child from his parents. His father was a closeted cross dresser, possibly same sex attracted, and my “friend” was very effeminate as a child. He still is. They all took it out on him. But he is a survivor. He did a lot of work on himself, But the twig was bent so much that the tree could not possibly grow straight. He knows how to say all of the right words, but if you know him as well as I did, you know that he has studied what the right words would be, and knows when to say them. But it doesn’t come from his heart, it comes from a manipulative personality. as my best friend said, “your behavior does not match your gushing proclamations of love.” The weird thing is, he has a huge amount of very well honed empathy. It makes him very effective in his work, but he doesn’t always use that super power for good because he is so damaged.
It was difficult to say goodbye, because there was so much in him that was good. But it was the right thing to do. If you were friends with Good Bruce, you got Bad Bruce in the bargain.
I don’t get notifications from WordPress either.
Oh man, your bad Bruce story reminds me of a fun friend I had, up until very recently. I knew it couldn’t last. All the signs were there. She can’t get a handle on her volatile side. When she told me about the way she grew up I understood her rage, but when she finally took it out on my little girl, I said, “it’s been so nice knowing you”. And it was nice knowing her. She told me that her mother left her father,( who was a police snitch), when he messed with the wrong people. They came home to their dogs hanging from nooses from their garage ceiling.
Now she is trying to be the perfect mother to a perfect daughter, but she’s bursting at the seams. Such a shame.
@ taco
I’m getting notifications from WordPress again. It took a while to do it, but I finally found how. None of the places which are to of worked actually took me anywhere. If you can find one of the old emails notifying you of a response, at the very bottom of the email there is something about managing subscriptions. That worked
“He’s so pissed off. He wouldn’t even greet us after being gone for so long.”
Is he anti-mask?
“They are supposed to catch that personality type in the seminary!”
Like a catch-and-release policy?
*Allow me to rephrase the last paragraph.
Our pastor speaks non stop about “community”–it sounds great on paper. I have learned how to watch what people do, rather than listen to what they say. Trump’s claims about being pro-life were comical, but people so desperately *wanted* to believe what he was saying because it validated their agreement with his cruelty. A cruel man is a cruel man is a cruel man. It’s hard to hide such a thing.