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Laudato Si – praise God for the Earth we now Threaten

Laudato-Si

ENCYCLICAL LETTER
LAUDATO SI’
OF THE HOLY FATHER
FRANCIS
ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME

1. “LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs”.[1]

2. This sister 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. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.

For the Full Encyclical click here.

Pope’s message on climate change marks a radical departure for the Vatican:  Donal Dorr in the Irish Times, 19th June, 2015.

Francis’ encyclical an urgent call to prevent world of ‘debris, desolation and filth’  Joshua McElwee (NCR)

Pope’s climate change encyclical tells rich nations: pay your debt to the poor.  Manchester Guardian

Follow the Footnotes :  Fascinating ‘America’ article on the sources that have influenced Pope Francis most, not all of them conventional.

Fox News Pundit Calls Pope Francis ‘The Most Dangerous Person On The Planet’ For Suggesting Climate Change Is Real.  Huffington Post

Further Links will follow here, and ACI comment in other posts.