LAUDATO SI- means Praise Be to You May 25, 2015 published on June 8, 2015.

 On care for our common home – a letter from Pope Francis

 He wrote a letter to us all saying that we need to protect this earth, our common home.
 Normally, papal documents are addressed to the bishops of the Church or the lay faithful. But,
similar to Pope Saint John XXIII’s Pacem in Terris, Pope Francis address his message to all people.
 Pope Francis’ Encyclical Laudato Si is a worldwide wake up call to help humanity understand the
destruction that man is rendering to the environment and his fellow man.
 the document’s scope is broader in many ways as it looks at not only man’s effect on the
environment, but also the many philosophical, theological, and cultural causes that threaten the
relationships of man to nature and man to each other in various circumstances.
 the epitome of Pope Francis. It is an unexpected topic. It presents Gospel truths. And, it provides
a challenge for every believer
 the pope critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental
degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take "swift and unified
global action”
 “Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last two hundred
years”
 We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth our very bodies are made up of her
elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.

Encyclical, some principal concepts are continually taken up and enriched:

· the intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet,
· the conviction that everything in the world is connected,
· the critique of new paradigms and forms of power derived from technology,
· the call to seek other ways of understanding the economy and progress,
· the value proper to each creature,
· the human meaning of ecology,
· the need for forthright and honest debate,
· the serious responsibility of international and local policy,
· the throwaway culture and the proposal of a new lifestyle

It is clear that, after Laudato si’, the examination of conscience (the instrument that the Church
has always recommended to orient one’s life by reflection on one’s lived relationship with the
Lord, should include a new dimension.
The attention that the media has given to the Encyclical before its publication has primarily
concentrated on aspects tied to the environmental policies currently being discussed on the
global agenda.
Laudato si’ can and must have an impact on important and urgent decisions to be made in this
area. However, the magisterial, pastoral and spiritual dimensions of the document must not be
put in second place. Its value, breadth and depth cannot be reduced to the mere scope of
determining environmental policies.
CHAPTER ONE – WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR COMMON HOME
Summary quote of this chapter’s goal: “Theological and philosophical reflections on the situation of
humanity and the world can sound tiresome and abstract, unless they are grounded in a fresh analysis of
our present situation, which is in many ways unprecedented in the history of humanity. So, before
considering how faith brings new incentives and requirements with regard to the world of which we are a
part, I will briefly turn to what is happening to our common home” (#17).
Summary quote of this chapter’s message: “But a sober look at our world shows that the degree of human
intervention, often in the service of business interests and consumerism, is actually making our earth less
rich and beautiful, ever more limited and grey, even as technological advances and consumer goods
continue to abound limitlessly. We seem to think that we can substitute an irreplaceable and irretrievable
beauty with something which we have created ourselves” (#34).
CHAPTER TWO – THE GOSPEL OF CREATION
Summary quote of this chapter’s goal: “Why should this document, addressed to all people of good will,
include a chapter dealing with the convictions of believers? I am well aware that in the areas of politics
and philosophy there are those who firmly reject the idea of a Creator, or consider it irrelevant…
Nonetheless, science and religion, with their distinctive approaches to understanding reality, can enter
into an intense dialogue fruitful for both” (#62).
Summary quote of this chapter’s message: “We are not God. The earth was here before us and it has been
given to us…. Although it is true that we Christians have at times incorrectly interpreted the Scriptures,
nowadays we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion
over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures.

The biblical texts are to be read in their context, with an appropriate hermeneutic, recognizing that they
tell us to ‘till and keep’ the garden of the world (cf. Gen 2:15). ’Tilling’ refers to cultivating, ploughing or
working, while ‘keeping’ means caring, protecting, overseeing and preserving. This implies a relationship
of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature. Each community can take from the bounty of
the earth whatever it needs for subsistence, but it also has the duty to protect the earth and to ensure its
fruitfulness for coming generations” (#67)

CHAPTER THREE – THE HUMAN ROOTS OF THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS

Summary quote of this chapter’s goal: “It would hardly be helpful to describe symptoms without
acknowledging the human origins of the ecological crisis. A certain way of understanding human life and
activity has gone awry, to the serious detriment of the world around us. Should we not pause and
consider this? At this stage, I propose that we focus on the dominant technocratic paradigm and the place
of human beings and of human action in the world” (#101).
Summary quote of this chapter’s message: “It can be said that many problems of today’s world stem from the
tendency, at times unconscious, to make the method and aims of science and technology an
epistemological paradigm which shapes the lives of individuals and the workings of society.

The effects of imposing this model on reality as a whole, human and social, are seen in the deterioration
of the environment, but this is just one sign of a reductionism which affects every aspect of human and
social life. We have to accept that technological products are not neutral, for they create a framework
which ends up conditioning lifestyles and shaping social possibilities along the lines dictated by the
interests of certain powerful groups” (#107).

CHAPTER FOUR – INTEGRAL ECOLOGY

Summary quote of this chapter’s goal: “Since everything is closely interrelated, and today’s problems call for
a vision capable of taking into account every aspect of the global crisis, I suggest that we now consider
some elements of an integral ecology, one which clearly respects its human and social dimensions”
(#137).
Summary quote of this chapter’s message: “We urgently need a humanism capable of bringing together the
different fields of knowledge, including economics, in the service of a more integral and integrating vision.
Today, the analysis of environmental problems cannot be separated from the analysis of human, family,
work related and urban contexts, nor from how individuals relate to themselves, which leads in turn to
how they relate to others and to the environment” (#141).
CHAPTER FIVE – LINES OF APPROACH AND ACTION
Summary quote of this chapter’s goal: “So far I have attempted to take stock of our present situation,
pointing to the cracks in the planet that we inhabit as well as to the profoundly human causes of
environmental degradation. Although the contemplation of this reality in itself has already shown the need
for a change of direction and other courses of action, now we shall try to outline the major paths of
dialogue which can help us escape the spiral of self-destruction which currently engulfs us” (#163).
Summary quote of this chapter’s message: “Interdependence obliges us to think of one world with a common
plan. Yet the same ingenuity which has brought about enormous technological progress has so far proved
incapable of finding effective ways of dealing with grave environmental and social problems worldwide. A
global consensus is essential for confronting the deeper problems, which cannot be resolved by unilateral
actions on the part of individual countries.” (#164)
CHAPTER SIX – ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION AND SPIRITUALITY
Summary quote of this chapter’s goal: “Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings
above all who need to change. We lack an awareness of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and
of a future to be shared with everyone. This basic awareness would enable the development of new
convictions, attitudes and forms of life. A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before
us, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renewal” (#202).
Summary quote of this chapter’s message: “In calling to mind the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi, we come
to realize that a healthy relationship with creation is one dimension of overall personal conversion, which
entails the recognition of our errors, sins, faults and failures, and leads to heartfelt repentance and desire
to change” (#218).
Quotes on Some of the Main Themes in Laudato Si
On the effects of the market on the environment

“Once more, we need to reject a magical conception of the market, which would suggest that problems
can be solved simply by an increase in the profits of companies or individuals. Is it realistic to hope that
those who are obsessed with maximizing profits will stop to reflect on the environmental damage which
they will leave behind for future generations? Where profits alone count, there can be no thinking about
the rhythms of nature, its phases of decay and regeneration, or the complexity of ecosystems which may
be gravely upset by human intervention” (#190).

On the false belief in technology

“There is a tendency to believe that every increase in power means ‘an increase of “progress” itself’, an
advance in ‘security, usefulness, welfare and vigour; …an assimilation of new values into the stream of
culture’, as if reality, goodness and truth automatically flow from technological and economic power as
such. The fact is that ‘contemporary man has not been trained to use power well’, because our immense
technological development has not been accompanied by a development in human responsibility, values
and conscience. Each age tends to have only a meagre awareness of its own limitations. It is possible
that we do not grasp the gravity of the challenges now before us” (#105).

On global warming

“A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the
climatic system. In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea
level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable
cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon. Humanity is called to recognize the need for
changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human
causes which produce or aggravate it.” (#23). (For more on global warming and climate change see, #24-
26, #52, #169-170, #172, #175, #181 #188.)

On science and technology as a belief system

“It can be said that many problems of today’s world stem from the tendency, at times unconscious, to
make the method and aims of science and technology an epistemological paradigm which shapes the
lives of individuals and the workings of society. The effects of imposing this model on reality as a whole,
human and social, are seen in the deterioration of the environment, but this is just one sign of a
reductionism which affects every aspect of human and social life” (#106).

On the environment and the poor

“The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat
environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation. In fact,
the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet: ‘Both
everyday experience and scientific research show that the gravest effects of all attacks on the
environment are suffered by the poorest’” (#48).

On the right balance with the respect of the environment and humanity

“This situation has led to a constant schizophrenia, wherein a technocracy which sees no intrinsic value in
lesser beings coexists with the other extreme, which sees no special value in human beings. But one
cannot prescind from humanity. There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal
of humanity itself. There can be no ecology without an adequate anthropology” (#118).

On consumerism

“When people become self-centered and self-enclosed, their greed increases. The emptier a person’s
heart is, the more he or she needs things to buy, own and consume. It becomes almost impossible to
accept the limits imposed by reality. In this horizon, a genuine sense of the common good also
disappears” (#204).

Other Topical Quotes of Importance

On what we individally can do to help the environment
“Education in environmental responsibility can encourage ways of acting which directly and significantly
affect the world around us, such as avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption,
separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings,
using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other
practices. All of these reflect a generous and worthy creativity which brings out the best in human beings.
Reusing something instead of immediately discarding it, when done for the right reasons, can be an act of
love which expresses our own dignity. (#211)
On water as a fundamental right

“One particularly serious problem is the quality of water available to the poor…. Yet access to safe
drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such,
is a condition for the exercise of other human rights. Our world has a grave social debt towards the poor
who lack access to drinking water, because they are denied the right to a life consistent with their
inalienable dignity” (#29-30).

On social media’s effects on our culture

“When media and the digital world become omnipresent, their influence can stop
people from learning how to live wisely, to think deeply and to love generously…. True wisdom, as the
fruit of self-examination, dialogue and generous encounter between persons, is not acquired by a mere
accumulation of data which eventually leads to overload and confusion, a sort of mental pollution.

“Real relationships with others, with all the challenges they entail, now tend to be replaced by a type of
internet communication which enables us to choose or eliminate relationships at whim, thus giving rise to
a new type of contrived emotion which has more to do with devices and displays than with other people
and with nature” (#47).

On overpopulation
“Instead of resolving the problems of the poor and thinking of how the world can be different, some can
only propose a reduction in the birth rate. At times, developing countries face forms of international
pressure which make economic assistance contingent on certain policies of ‘reproductive health’…. To
blame population growth instead of extreme and selective consumerism on the part of some, is one way
of refusing to face the issues” (#50).

On transgender issues

“Learning to accept our body, to care for it and to respect its fullest meaning, is an essential element of
any genuine human ecology. Also, valuing one’s own body in its femininity or masculinity is necessary if I
am going to be able to recognize myself in an encounter with someone who is different. In this way we
can joyfully accept the specific gifts of another man or woman, the work of God the Creator, and find
mutual enrichment. It is not a healthy attitude which would seek ‘to cancel out sexual difference because
it no longer knows how to confront it’” (#120).

On abortion

“Since everything is interrelated, concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the
justification of abortion. How can we genuinely teach the importance of concern for other vulnerable
beings, however troublesome or inconvenient they may be, if we fail to protect a human embryo, even
when its presence is uncomfortable and creates difficulties? ‘If personal and social sensitivity towards the
acceptance of the new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither
away’” (#120).

On genetically modified food

This, then, is the correct framework for any reflection concerning human intervention on plants and
animals, which at present includes genetic manipulation by biotechnology for the sake of exploiting the
potential present in material reality. The respect owed by faith to reason calls for close attention to what
the biological sciences, through research uninfluenced by economic interests, can teach us about
biological structures, their possibilities and their mutations. Any legitimate intervention will act on nature
only in order ‘to favour its development in its own line, that of creation, as intended by God’” (#132) (More
on this topic in #133-135)

On the problem of modern day politics

“That is why, in the absence of pressure from the public and from civic institutions, political authorities will
always be reluctant to intervene, all the more when urgent needs must be met. To take up these
responsibilities and the costs they entail, politicians will inevitably clash with the mindset of short-term
gain and results which dominates present-day economics and politics. But if they are courageous, they
will attest to their God-given dignity and leave behind a testimony of selfless responsibility” (#181).

On hope in this situation

“Yet all is not lost. Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above
themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start, despite their mental and social
conditioning. We are able to take an honest look at ourselves, to acknowledge our deep dissatisfaction,
and to embark on new paths to authentic freedom. No system can completely suppress our openness to
what is good, true and beautiful, or our God-given ability to respond to his grace at work deep in our
hearts. I appeal to everyone throughout the world not to forget this dignity which is ours. No one has the
right to take it from us. (#205)”