MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
IN OCCASION OF THE PRESENTATION OF HIS ENCYCLICAL
"FRATELLI TUTTI" IN RUSSIAN

Dear brothers and sisters,

I have received, as a beautiful and joyful surprise, the news that the Encyclical Fratelli tutti has been translated into Russian and will be presented in Moscow, in the “Pokrovskie vorota” Cultural Centre. In this way it is made available to a great number of men and women of goodwill who will wish to confront this text.

I was also delighted and impressed by the fact that it was the Muslim International Forum that edited this translation into Russian. I think that reflection and dialogue on this Encyclical can be of help not only for the Russian Federation, where dialogue between Christians and Muslims is required to grow, but for the human family as a whole. Indeed, in the globalised and interconnected world in which we live, a gesture made in one corner has repercussions in every other.

Moreover, I am confident that open and sincere discussion on the issues of fraternity can foster dialogue between religions. Indeed, fraternity stems from the fact that we recognise one Father. And, if we are all children of one Father, we can call ourselves brothers and sisters, and above all, live as such.

With these sentiments of gratitude, I wish you all a fruitful study of this text, and hope that you may benefit from it in your personal and social lives.

From the Vatican, 17 February 2021, Ash Wednesday

Frianciscus

Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office, 3 March 2021