Healing Memory: A Bonaventurian Response to Pope Francis’ Fratelli Tutti

Abstract

In his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis identifies a need to “heal open wounds,” as well as a “need for peacemakers … prepared to work boldly and creatively to initiate processes of healing and renewed encounter.” This paper aims to address the Holy Father’s call to “heal wounds” within our societies by first identifying memory as the primary domain that needs healing, and then proposing the wisdom of St. Bonaventure as providing the remedy. Bonaventure’s Itinerarium Mentis in Deum reveals how affectus acts as a “healing agent” upon memory as the soul ascends to God; if understood primarily as a “healing journey”, Bonaventure’s Itinerarium can shed significant light on the “processes of healing” so desperately needed today. This paper will follow each of the three major “steps” in the soul’s journey to God, as identified in Bonaventure’s Itinerarium, by identifying the role of memory in the first step; the role of affectus and its interplay with memory in the second step; and how affectus acts as a healing agent upon memory in the third step. Concluding thoughts will be offered regarding how this path given by Bonaventure can provide a foundation for building peace in the world today.