Pope Francis during a consistory in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, September 30, 2023. RICCARDO DE LUCA / AP
In 2015, Pope Francis dedicated an entire encyclical to the topic of ecology for the first time. With the publication of Laudato si’ (“Praised be you” in Old Italian), the first words of Brother Sun’s canticle, a prayer by Francis of Assisi, a saint from whom Jorge Mario Bergoglio borrowed his pontifical name, was the Argentines active in a revolution. Concern for the environment was no stranger to his predecessors, but for the first time it was taking center stage.
Eight years later, Francis repeated the exercise by publishing a new text dedicated to this question on Wednesday, October 4, entitled Laudate Deum (“Praise God”). More modestly, this sequel is not an encyclical, i.e. a text with magisterial value, but an apostolic exhortation, which is more of a recommendation to the faithful. It is also an accusation against climate skepticism.
The urgency of the situation seems to be preoccupying the Pope. “Over time, I realize,” he writes, “that our responses are inadequate as the world that welcomes us collapses, perhaps approaching a breaking point.” » “No matter how hard we try to deny it, too “To hide, hide or put in perspective,” he continues, “the signs of climate change are there and are becoming more and more obvious.” Nobody can ignore that in recent years we have experienced extreme phenomena, frequent periods of unusual heat, droughts and others have experienced plagues of the earth, which are just some of the tangible expressions of a disease silence that affects us all. »
Pedagogical demonstration
The text confirms that the “preservation of the common home,” that is, the planet, occupies a special place in Francis’ theology amid social issues and human fraternity from which it cannot distance itself. No one can say that this Pope has neglected perhaps the greatest challenge of modern times and the greatest threat to human life: climate change. As in the first text, the Pope once again reminds us of the fundamental role of humans in the ecological crisis. “We can no longer doubt the human – “anthropogenic” – origin of climate change,” writes François.
Beyond this observation, it is a real pedagogical demonstration, anchored in numbers and references to the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in which the Pope participates. Francis wants to show those who doubt the urgency of the situation that they are wrong and those who decide that action must be taken. Because in eight years, he says, “the reflection and the information collected” have made it possible to “clarify and complete what we said some time ago”. For this reason and because the situation is becoming more and more urgent, I wanted to share these pages with you.”
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