Pope Francis encyclical on care of our home

[Martinius]

I didn't see any other thread here about the encyclical, Laudato Si'. It is quite powerful, and not anything like how many commentators describe it. Francis does talk about climate change, but that is just a small part of the document. He mostly focuses on how badly we have cared for our one and only home, given to us by God. Francis relates the degradation of the earth to the exploitation of finite resources by a small percentage of humanity for their immediate benefit and profit, while showing no concern for the rest of humanity, for future generations, or for life on earth in general.

Despite what some claim, Francis is NOT the first pope to talk about this. In the encyclical he quotes liberally from JPII, Paul VI, and Benedict, who all spoke on and issued documents about the environment. He also often refers to the many documents issued over the past three decades by various bishops' conferences worldwide on this topic.

Wondering if anyone else has any thoughts to share on this encyclical?

 

[Tallguy88]

Thanks for sharing. I haven't read the encyclical yet. But I hope to when I get some free time.

But you're right, his environmental stance is not significantly different than that of Pope Benedict.

 

[Martinius]

It is likely that many people, including most Catholics, are not fully aware of Church teaching of the past 40 years or so about the environment and our responsibility to care for the resources of the earth.

The encyclical can be read and downloaded as a PDF from the Vatican website.