“We are brothers and sisters because we are humans”

This should be, to my mind, the summary of the two historic and unprecedented documents in contemporary Christian-Moslem relations. One is titled, Human Fraternity For World Peace and Living Together, the other is the Encyclical Letter, Fratelli Tutti. The first is the joint statement signed by Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church and by Ahmed el Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. The other is the encyclical letter of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, of the Roman Catholic Church.

Social friendship is the first effect of living together and treating each other as brothers and sisters. Then, when social friendships encompass the globe through the culture of dialogue then, as Pope Francis boldly and sincerely announces in Fratelli Tutti, world peace will hopefully be possible.

In the introductory pages of the papal document, our Holy Father announces his sincere expectations. “It is my desire that, in this our time, by acknowledging the dignity of each human person, we can contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity. Brotherhood between all men and women.”

Here we have a splendid secret that shows us how to dream and to turn our life into a wonderful adventure. No one can face life in isolation…

We need a community that supports and helps us in which we can help one another to keep looking ahead. How important it is to dream together… By ourselves, we risk seeing mirages, things that were not there. Dreams on the other hand are built together.

“Let us dream then, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all.” (Without Borders, 8)