Pope Francis has released “Laudate Deum,” an apostolic exhortation which follows the encyclical “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home,” which was published in 2015 and sought to guide the Church’s understanding of human and environmental ecology. “Laudato Si’ ” prompted initiatives globally oriented to caring for our common home and respecting the dignity of the people most affected by negative environmental impact. In his most recent apostolic exhortation, Pope Francis again implores the people of God, as well as government entities, to take seriously ecology issues and states that “this is a global social issue and one intimately related to the dignity of human life.” Throughout the story of humanity, God has called us to care for the gifts of creation as a way to cooperate in his creative love.
Prior to the release of the apostolic exhortation, at the beginning of this year’s Sept. 1–Oct. 4 “Season of Creation,” Pope Francis urged Christians to work toward “an end to the senseless war against creation,” beginning with “that ‘ecological conversion’ which St. John Paul II encouraged us to embrace: the renewal of our relationship with creation so that we no longer see it as an object to be exploited but cherish it instead as a sacred gift from our Creator.” He called on Christians to understand that God’s creation is a common good that must be protected for the welfare of all people.
In Laudate Deum, he goes further and addresses topics related to the global climate crisis, such as:
— Resistance and confusion
— Human causes
— Damages and risks
— A growing “technocratic paradigm”
— Our use of power
— International politics
— Multilateralism
— Climate conferences
— Spiritual motivations
— Journeying in communion and commitment
In the weeks ahead, we will be processing Pope Francis’ most recent teaching, considering ways to incorporate it into our diocese. Additionally, I take this opportunity to encourage all the faithful to read Laudate Deum as well as Laudato Si’.
Inspired by our Holy Father’s teaching, may we, in our efforts to bring about ecological conversion, first be grounded in the theological and spiritual conversion God desires for each of us. Rooted in God’s mercy and love, may we work to extend God’s goodness to all our brothers and sisters with whom we share our common home.
