Pope Francis issued the Laudato Si encyclical in June 2015,
saying it was for all humanity. ‘Laudato
Si’ is how St Francis began his great paean of praise to God. ‘Praise be to
you, my Lord’.
Here are a few extracts from Laudato Si. It can be read in its
entirety on the web:-
“St Francis is the example par
excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out
joyfully and authentically. He was particularly concerned for God’s
creation and for the poor and outcast. He shows us just how inseparable
the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to
society, and interior peace. He would call creatures, no matter how small, by
the name of brother or sister.
If we approach nature and the
environment without this openness to awe and wonder, if we no longer speak the
language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world, our
attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set
limits on their immediate needs.
I will offer some ….guidelines
for human development to be found in the treasure of Christian spiritual
experience. We have to realize that a true ecological approach...... must
integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear
both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
The climate is a common good,
belonging to all and meant for all.
So what they all need is an
ecological conversion whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ
become evident in their relationship with the world around them. Living our
vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue;
it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.”
John A
Baildon
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