[5] The Catholic Women's Council wrote an open letter to the pope "expressing concern" that the title gives the impression that the encyclical is addressed only to men, which created frustrations in a Church that does not recognize female priesthood.

[17][21] Besides Francis of Assisi, he also states that he has been inspired by numerous non-Catholics, including Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, and Mahatma Gandhi.

[18] It focuses on contemporary social and economic problems, and proposes an ideal world of fraternity in which all countries can be part of a "larger human family".

"By incorporating past sayings from homilies, speeches and statements into an encyclical, one of the highest levels of teaching in the church, he raises their authority".

[28] In the encyclical, Pope Francis states the Abu Dhabi declaration "was no mere diplomatic gesture, but a reflection born of dialogue and common commitment".

[28] Francis considers interreligious dialogue as a way to bring "friendship, peace and harmony", adding that without "openness to the Father of all", fraternity cannot be achieved.

He adds that the foundation of modern totalitarianism is the "denial of the transcendent dignity of the human person" and that violence "has no basis in religious convictions, but rather in their deformities".

According to him, however, dialogue does not involve reducing or hiding one's deepest convictions, and sincere and humble adoration of God promotes the sanctity of life.

[30][31] Pope Francis says this parable is an "ever new" call from Jesus to "rediscover our vocation as citizens of our respective nations and of the entire world, builders of a new social bond".

He also emphasizes the importance of recognising Jesus Christ in those who are abandoned or excluded and adds he "sometimes wonder[s] why it took so long for the Church unequivocally to condemn slavery and various forms of violence".

[...] Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travellers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all.In the encyclical, Francis writes that the sense of global kinship is disappearing, and that the quest for justice and peace is being replaced by a "globalized indifference".

[20] In Fratelli tutti, Francis states that universal brotherhood is possible, but requires "a decisive commitment to devising effective means to this end" (§ 180).

Furthermore, he states that isolationism, nationalism, a global economy that "promotes individual interests", a "loss of the sense of history", limitless consumption, wastefulness, the lack of concern for the environment, and a throwaway culture are hindering this end.

[31] Francis states that individualism "does not make us more free, more equal, more fraternal", and that what is needed is a "universal love" which promotes the dignity of every human being.

[20] With the money spent on weapons and other military expenditures, let us establish a global fund that can finally put an end to hunger and favour development in the most impoverished countries, so that their citizens will not resort to violent or illusory solutions, or have to leave their countries in order to seek a more dignified life.Francis says that wars can no longer be considered justifiable, as the risks of war exceed any supposed benefits.

[15] Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a Belarusian politician exiled after the 2020 presidential election, responded to the encyclical with a letter, Fraternal Society: A Vision For a New Belarus.

In the letter, Tsikhanouskaya noted that "a new political community" was born in Belarus out of "the desire for unity and solidarity" as a reaction to disenfranchising citizens during the post-Soviet decades of authoritarian presidency.

Reflecting on the election, she referred to the Good Samaritan parable central to encyclical, comparing the Belarusian people to the robbed and wounded traveller.

[39] According to Eduardo Campos Lima of Crux, many Brazilians were surprised and delighted by the use of Pope Francis of a quote from the song Samba da Benção of Vinicius de Moraes in the encyclical.

[40] The head of the Jesuit Institute School of Spirituality in South Africa, Catholic laywoman Dr. Annemarie Paulin-Campbell,[41][42] criticizes the content of the encyclical, its title which she believes made it difficult for woman to feel included (although, she says, "'Fratelli' is meant to communicate brothers and sisters or siblings"), and its frequent use of the word "fraternity" which she says "carries strongly masculine connotations".

Simone Campbell says the encyclical's message is: "We must move beyond continuous divisiveness and come together to build a world worthy of all God’s children".

[47] Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad al-Tayyeb says the encyclical "is an extension of the Document on Human Fraternity, and reveals a global reality in which the vulnerable and marginalized pay the price for unstable positions and decisions.

[48][49][50] Through its communication organ El Oriente, the Grand Lodge of Spain [es] praises the encyclical, saying that it shows "how far the current Catholic Church is from its former position.

The lodge also praises the fact that Francis addresses "the disintegrating role of the digital world, whose operation favors closed circuits of people who think the same way and facilitate the spread of fake news that encourage prejudice and hatred".

[51][52][53] The Grand Orient of Italy wrote in its official magazine Erasmo to praise the encyclical, saying the "idea of universal brotherhood as a bond that unites all human beings, regardless of their faith, ideology, color, skin, social background, language, culture and nation" expressed in the Fratelli tutti are "close to the ideals that have been the very foundations of Freemasonry from the very beginning".

[54][55] Pope Francis participated in a virtual observance of the International Day of Human Fraternity on 4 February 2021 along with Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad al-Tayyeb,[56] a new celebration founded on 21 December 2020 by the United Nations and which may have been influenced by Fratelli tutti.