Between Universalism and Particularism: A Comment on Chapter 5 of Fratelli Tutti from a Jewish Point of View

The chapter compares the particularistic character of the Jewish religion with the typically universalistic approach of the Catholic Church as it is expressed in Fratelli Tutti. It contrasts the metaphysical definition of a people (the chosen people) with the political definition of the concept in the Encyclical. The ideals of universal love and solidarity are critically analysed with the aid of Jewish sources. Universalistic interpretations of the Jewish tradition in biblical times and in the Enlightenment period are introduced into the discussion of the complex relation between the particular and the universal elements in the modern Jewish state.