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

by Pope Francis

Overview

A gift from God and the common home of humanity, the earth is threatened by man's abuse of his freedom. In his encyclical Praise Be to You (Laudato Si'), Pope Francis challenges all people to praise and thank God for his glorious creation and to work together to safeguard her.

Popes Benedict XVI, John Paul II, and Paul VI addressed key themes regarding stewardship of God's creation, but Francis is the first to devote an entire encyclical to the subject. The encyclical takes its name from Saint 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". Pope Francis declares, "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."

Francis calls for an "integral ecology" based on what Pope Saint John Paul II 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 notions such as sustainability from a Judeo-Christian perspective. The loss of biodiversity and the unequal distribution of resources, largely caused by the consumerism and excessive individualism of the wealthi­er nations, threaten the good order of creation, he writes. While valuing technology, he rejects efforts to repudiate the natural order, including the moral law inscribed in human nature. He cautions against an overreliance on science to solve ecological problems and emphasizes the need for openness to God.

Expounding the biblical tradition regarding creation and redemption in Christ, Francis stresses man's subordi­nation to God's plan. He insists on the primacy of the human person in creation and rejects treating it as if it were "divine", yet he traces the roots of the ecological crisis to man's self-centeredness and the rise of prac­tical relativism. Without rejecting political changes, he implores people to change their hearts and their ways of life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621640813
Publisher:	Ignatius Press
Publication date:	08/11/2015
Pages:	163
Sales rank:	1,142,065
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

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