FULL TEXT: ‘Declaration on Human Fraternity’ drafted by Nobel laureates at the Vatican

(The following is the full text of the Declaration of Human Fraternity, delivered during the first World Meeting on Human Fraternity at Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Saturday, June 10.)

“We are diverse, we are different, we have different cultures and religions, but we are brothers and sisters and we want to live in peace.” – Pope Francis

Every man is our brother, every woman is our sister, always. We want all to live together, as brothers and sisters in the Garden that is the Earth. The Garden of fraternity is the condition for all life.

We are witnesses of how, in every corner of the world, lost harmony blooms again when dignity is respected, tears are wiped away, work is fairly remunerated, education is guaranteed, health is cared for, diversity is appreciated, nature is restored, justice is honored, and communities face their loneliness and their fears.

Together, we choose to live our relationships based on fraternity, fueled by dialogue and by forgiveness that “does not mean forgetting” (FT, n. 250), but renounces and does not “yield to the same destructive force” (FT, n. 251) whose consequences we all suffer from.

United with Pope Francis, we want to reaffirm that “authentic reconciliation does not flee from conflict, but is achieved in conflict, resolving it through dialogue and open, honest and patient negotiation.” (FT, n. 244) All this within the context of the human rights framework.

We want to shout to the world in the name of fraternity: Never again war! It is peace, justice, equality that guide the fate of all mankind. No to fear, no to sexual and domestic violence! All armed conflicts must come to an end. We say no more nuclear weapons, no more land mines. No more forced migrations, ethnic cleansing, dictatorships, corruption and slavery. Let us stop the manipulation of technology and AI, let us put fraternity before technological development, so that it may permeate it.

We encourage countries to promote joint efforts in order to create a society of peace, for example by instituting Ministries of Peace.

We commit ourselves to healing the land stained by the blood of violence and hatred, by social inequalities and corruption of the heart. Let us counter hatred with love.

Compassion, sharing, generosity, sobriety, and responsibility are for us the choices that nurture personal fraternity, the fraternity of the heart.

Growing the seed of spiritual fraternity begins with us. It is enough to plant a small seed each day in our relationships: our homes, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, public squares, and within decision-making institutions.

We also believe in social fraternity that recognizes equal dignity for all, fosters friendship and belonging, promotes education, equal opportunities, decent work and social justice, hospitality, solidarity and cooperation, social solidarity, economy and a just ecological transition, a sustainable agriculture that ensures access to food for all, thus favoring harmonious relationships based on mutual respect and caring for the welfare of all.

In this perspective, it is possible to develop proximity actions and human laws, because “fraternity necessarily calls for something greater, which in turn enhances freedom and equality” (FT, n. 103). Together, we want to build an environmental fraternity, to make Peace with nature, knowing that “everything is in relation to everything else”: the fate of the world, the care of creation, the harmony of nature and sustainable lifestyles.

We want to build the future on the notes of Saint Francis’s Canticle of the Creatures, the song of eternal Life. The plot of universal fraternity weaves the threads of the Canticle’s verses: everything is in relation, and in relation with everything and everyone is Life.

Therefore, we, gathered on the occasion of the first World Meeting on Human Fraternity, call on all women and men of goodwill to embrace our appeal to fraternity. Our children, our future can only thrive in a world of peace, justice and equality, to the benefit of the single human family: only fraternity can generate humanity.

It is up to our freedom to want fraternity and to build it together, in unity. Join us in signing this appeal to embrace this dream and transform it into daily practices, so that it reaches the minds and hearts of all leaders and of those who, at every level, have a small or great civic responsibility. – Rappler.com