Praise Be to You - Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home

by Pope Francis

Overview

The earth is the common home of humanity. It is a gift from God. Yet man’s abuse of freedom threatens that home. In his encyclical Praise Be to You (Laudato Si’), Pope Francis challenges all people to praise God for his glorious creation and to work to safeguard her. The encyclical letter takes its name from St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures, which depicts creation as “a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us”.

“This sister”, Pope Francis declares, “now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her”. He calls for an “integral ecology” based on what Pope St John Paul called an “ecological conversion”—a moral transformation linking the proper response to God for the gift of his creation to concern for justice, especially for the poor. He challenges people to understand ecology in terms of the right ordering of the fundamental relationships of the human person: with God, oneself, other people, and the rest of creation.

Francis examines such ecological concerns as pollution, waste, and what he calls “the throwaway culture”. Climate, he insists, is a common good to be protected. He explores the proper use of natural resources and notions such as sustainability from a Judeo-Christian perspective. The loss of biodiversity due to human activities, decline in the quality of life for many people, global inequality of resources, as well as concerns over consumerism and excessive individualism also threaten the good order of creation, writes Pope Francis. While valuing technology and invnovation, he rejects efforts to repudiate the natural order, including the moral law inscribed in human nature or to rely simply on science to solve ecological problems. Moral and spiritual resources are crucial, including openness to God’s purpose for the world.

Expounding the biblical tradition regarding creation and redemption in Christ, Francis stresses man’s subordination to God’s plan and the universal communion of all creation. “Dominion”, he maintains, means “responsible stewardship” rather than exploitation. He rejects treating creation as if it were “divine” and insists on the primacy of the human person in creation. He also explores the roots of the ecological crisis in man’s abuse of technology, his self-centeredness, and the rise of practical relativism. Without rejecting political changes, he implores people to change their hearts and their ways of life.

Popes Benedict XVI, St John Paul II, and Blessed Paul VI addressed key themes regarding stewardship of God’s creation and justice in the world. But Pope Francis is the first to devote an entire encyclical to the subject.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681496672
Publisher:	Ignatius Press
Publication date:	07/06/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	163
File size:	166 KB

About the Author

Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio), is the first Jesuit and the first Latin American to be elected to the chair of Peter. A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was ordained as a priest in 1969. He served as head of the Society of Jesus in Argentina from 1973 to 1979. In 1998 he became the archbishop of Buenos Aires and, in 2001, a cardinal. Following the resigna­tion of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, on February 28, 2013, the conclave elected Bergoglio, who chose the papal name Francis in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Table of Contents

Laudato Si', Mi' Signore[1-2] 9

Nothing in this world is indifferent to us [3-6] 9

United by the same concern[7-9] 12

Saint Francis of Assisi[10-12] 14

My appeal[13-16] 16

Chapter 1 What is Happening to our Common Home[17-61]

I Pollution and Climate Change[20-26] 22

Pollution, waste and the throwaway culture[20-22] 22

Climate as a common good[23-26] 24

II The Issue of Water[27-31] 27

III Loss of Biodiversity[32-42] 29

IV Decline in the Quality of Human Life and the Breakdown of Society[43-47] 34

V Global Inequality[48-52] 36

VI Weak Responses[53-59] 41

VII A Variety of Opinions[60-61] 44

Chapter 2 The Gospel of Creation[62-100]

I The Light Offered by Faith[63-64] 47

II The Wisdom of the Biblical Accounts[65-75] 48

III The Mystery of the Universe[76-83] 56

IV The Message of Each Creature in the Harmony of Creation[84-88] 61

V A Universal Communion[89-92] 64

VI The Common Destination of Goods[93-95] 67

VII The Gaze of Jesus[96-100] 69

Chapter 3 The Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis[101-136]

I Technology: Creativity and Power[102-105] 73

II The Globalization of the Technocratic Paradigm[106-114] 76

III The Crisis and Effects of Modern Anthropocentrism[115-136] 82

Practical relativism[122-123] 86

The need to protect employment[124-129] 87

New biological technologies[130-136] 91

Chapter 4 Integral Ecology[137-162]

I Environmental, Economic and Social Ecology[138-142] 97

II Cultural Ecology[143-146] 101

III Ecology of Daily Life[147-155] 103

IV The Principle of the Common Good[156-158] 108

V Justice Between the Generations[159-162] 109

Chapter 5 Lines of Approach and Action[163-201]

I Dialogue on the Environment in the International Community[164-175] 113

II Dialogue for New National and Local Policies[176-181] 120

III Dialogue and Transparency in Decision-Making[182-188] 123

IV Politics and Economy in Dialogue for Human Fulfillment[189-198] 127

V Religions in Dialogue with Science[199-201] 133

Chapter 6 Ecological Education and Spirituality[202-246]

I Towards a New Lifestyle[203-208] 137

II Educating for the Covenant Between Humanity and the Environment[209-215] 140

III Ecological Conversion[216-221] 144

IV Joy and Peace[222-227] 148

V Civic and Political Love[228-232] 151

VI Sacramental Signs and the Celebration of Rest[233-237] 153

VII The Trinity and the Relationship Between Creatures[238-240] 157

VIII Queen of All Creation[241-242] 159

IX Beyond the Sun[243-246] 160

A prayer for our earth 161

A Christian prayer in union with creation 162