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Pope Francis' Encyclical Letter "Laudato Si"
Praised Be: On the Care of the Common Home
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On Care for Our Common Home (Laudato Si') is the new appeal from Pope Francis addressed to "every person living on this planet" for an inclusive dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. Pope Francis calls the Church and the world to acknowledge the urgency of our environmental challenges and to join him in embarking on a new path. This encyclical is written with both hope and resolve, looking to our common future with candor and humility. See the Vatican's Introductiory Video.
The title "Laudato Si" (Praised Be), is the introductory phrase from St. Francis of Assisi's famous prayer, "Canticle of Creatures", which thanks God for the gifts of Creation.
Click on the image above to go to the full text of Laudato Si. It is also available here in PDF.
You may wish to read A Brief Guide to the Encyclical from the Vatican Press Office, and read the Discussion Guide from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The USCCB has published homily hints, bulletin inserts and other materials for Catholic schools and parishes, which will be available here:Cardinal Turkson, a close collaborator with Pope Francis, has listed four principles which he enunciates in his Encyclical:
- the call (to all people) to be protectors is integral and all-embracing;
- care for creation is a virtue in its own right (relationship between nature and man);
- necessity to care for what we cherish and revere (religious voice and sustainable development and environmental care);
- the call to dialogue and a new global solidarity (everyone has a part to play, not matter how small, and this can make a difference) based on the fundamental pillars that govern a nation, its nonmaterial goods: life, family, integral education, health including the spiritual dimension of well-being, and security.
The Environmental Stewardship and Adult Formation ministries at St. Thomas More will present further teaching and opportunities for action on Laudato Si in the coming months.
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Comments and Discussions on Laudato Si
Here are a selection of comments from the Catholic media in recent weeks. Please note that these are not on the published text of the Encyclical, but rather upon statements made by Pope francis in other contexts, and teachings by earlier Popes and theologians.
- Video - Pope Francis Calls for Climate Action
- Pope Francis has Spoken out Strongly about Ecology - Catholic Climate Covenant
- “Integral ecology and the horizon of hope: concern for the poor and for creation in the ministry of Pope Francis” lecture by Cardinal Turkson in Ireland, March 5 2015.
- Pope Francis and 21st Century Stewardship - National Catholic Register
- A New Paradigm for Catholic Energy Ethics - Catholic Moral Theology
- Unseemly Behavior - Editorial from Our Sunday Visitor
- Papal Encyclicals Online - from 1241 AD until the present day
- Climate Change and the Common Good - Pontifical Academy of Sciences
- High Level Launch for Pope's Encyclical - America Magazine
- Commentary and Resources - America Magazine
- Franciscan Roots Showing in Upcoming Encyclical - America Magazine
- A Conservative's Case for Conservation - Catholic Ecology
- "Custody + Creation" - Online movie about Catholics working for Conservation
- Why Pope Francis will never be a Radical "Green" - Cruxnow.com
- Catholicism and the Environment - Articles from Commonweal Magazine
- Laudato Si 101 - Brandon Vogt
- Resources Posted by the Diocese of Raleigh
- How Laudato Si Extends Catholic Social Teaching
- A Prophetic Pope and the Tradition of Catholic Social Teaching - Fr. Robert Barron
- Laudato Si Study and Action Guide from the Columban Missionaries
- Pontifex Economicus - Article in America magazine
- Pope Francis' Concept of Integral Ecology - Article in America magazine
- Laudato Si: A Call to Right Relationship - Columbia Magazine
- Embracing Our Limits: The Lessons of Laudato Si - Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury
- See ways to LaudatoSi-fy your Advent