Pope Francis blesses newly ordained priests in the St. Damaso courtyard on the occasion of the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020.
In Italian, “fratelli” means brothers but it is also used as the inclusive, brothers and sisters.
Vatican encyclicals are the most authoritative form of papal teaching and they traditionally take their titles from the first two words of the document.
In this case, “Fratelli Tutti" is a quote from the “Admonitions," the compendium of guidelines penned by St. Francis in the 12th century.
“For this reason, all readers should be able to understand the title ‘Fratelli Tutti' with the absolutely inclusive connotation that is intended," he said.