Faced with the tragedies of migration and the temptation to withdraw into one's own identity, Pope Francis defends a resolute conception of fraternity, which divides even the ranks of Catholics. In the run-up to the French presidential election, the Jesuits of French-speaking Western Europe provide elements for reflection through a special dossier and a round table. A partnership between Ceras, the Centre Sèvres in Paris and JRS France.

In a context marked by an affirmation of nationalism and identity-based withdrawal, how can we interpret the message of Pope Francis who, in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, recalls the duty of fraternity beyond national borders? What is the impact of these divisions around the interpretation of fraternity as a moral and political requirement on democracy?

This is the starting point of the dossier published by the Revue Projet "François, la fraternité sans frontières?", published by Ceras, the Jesuit centre for research and social action in Paris (December 2021/January 2022, n°385).

In this issue, prepared in partnership with the Centre Sèvres and JRS France, theologians, philosophers and field workers address migration issues, between universalism, particularism and pluralism. This work also shows how the practice of hospitality and fraternity is put into practice in everyday life, and the resistance it encounters.

Round table

On this same theme, the Revue Projet, in partnership with the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and the Centre Sèvres-Facultés jésuites, also proposed a round-table on the theme "Is biblical and republican fraternity a myth? Catholics and migrations" on 25 January. This brought together theologians, social scientists and philosophers to propose an interdisciplinary discussion on the debates that run through Catholic communities, and beyond, French society as a whole, around the relationship between Catholicism and migration.

We are called upon to address the question of borders, the role of the State and our ways of thinking about life together. An invitation, finally, to think and live a biblical and democratic fraternity.