Cardinal Ayuso: 'Human fraternity is a personal attitude'

Ahead of the anniversary of the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity, Cardinal Miguel Ayuso talks about the responsibility we all have as individuals to promote fraternity in our daily lives.

By Francesca Merlo and Christopher Wells

Fraternity is a global concept, according to Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, President of the Pontifical Council for Interrreligious Dialogue, and member of the Higher Commission of the Document on Human Fraternity and Living Together.

The Cardinal spoke with Christopher Wells ahead of the 4 February anniversary of the signing of the Document.

Global call for fraternity

Cardinal Ayuso noted that "a call" was made on 4 February 2019 when Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar signed the Document on Human Fraternity during the Holy Father's Apostolic Visit to Abu Dhabi.

It is, more specifically, "a global call", continued Cardinal Ayuso. He explained that after the Document was signed, a Higher Committee was created in order to promote fraternity but that this promotion "does not fall on the shoulders of the Holy Father" and nor on those of the Grand Imam or of the Higher Committee.

"It is the responsibility of all", he stressed.

Cardinal Ayuso explains that "our responsibility as a committee is to keep alive the contents of the Document."

“Our call is that all people belonging to different religious traditions and organisations take their own responsibility in promoting this beautiful and remarkable concept that is fraternity, and that it is absolutely necessary for today's world and for our future.”

Implementing fraternity

Cardinal Ayuso went on to explain that fraternity is promoted through "a dialogue of life", through one's own responsibilities in our daily lives.

Here, he continued, there are many possibilities for everyone at any time to "do good and promote the common good, to work together and defend the human dignity of every human person and to work together to promote social cohesion within our societies."

This is why it is so important also for our different religious communities to take seriously the elements and concepts that are common to our respective religious traditions, specifically "promoting and doing good and living in a spirit of fraternity."

With this in mind, the fraternity called for by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam, "is something that has to keep all alive."

Cardinal Ayuso concluded by noting that human fraternity is "an attitude, a personal attitude, which we as human beings must have in our daily lives and relationships with others."

Listen to the full interview