Dialogue and Catholicity A Critique of the Social Doctrine of Pope Francis

Many commentators have noted the marked change of tone in magisterial teaching with the current papacy of Pope Francis. Recognised, for example, as Time Magazine s' Person of the Year in 2013, Francis is understood to have dragged "the papacy out of the palace and into the streets" (Nancy Gibbs, managing editor of Time Magazine ). When one considers his social teaching, as epitomised by the encyclicals Laudato si' (2015) and Fratelli tutti (2020), the concept of "dialogue" - not least dialogue with those beyond the church - is evidently an important element of his theological approach. However, one could ask how dialogical is the theology of Pope Francis in action and what could this mean for his understanding of pluralism and difference within the church? Catholics who feel attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, for example, might point to Franciss' motu proprio, Traditionis custodes (2021) as falling short of a truly dialogical theology. With the help of Emmanuel Levinas, this article explores the potential limits of the philosophicaltheological foundations of Francis's dialectical approach to dialogue in his social teaching, with particular focus on Fratelli tutti . It is proposed that only a theology which transcends a dialectical paradigm can escape the tendency for one version of unity to have the definitive priority in any encounter with otherness in a way that ultimately assimilates or ignores that which is different.