L A U D A T O S I'

OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME

LAUDATO SI', MI SIGNORE
PRAISE BE TO YOU, MY LORD.

Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister,

Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and
who produces various fruit with coloured
flowers and herbs

-Saint Francis of Assissi

 WHAT IS HAPPENING
TO OUR COMMON HOME
CHANGES AFFECTING
HUMANITY AND PLANET
+
INTENSIFIED PACE OF LIFE
AND WORK

NATURAL SLOW PACE OF
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
Pollution, waste, and throwaway
culture.

Health hazards and premature death. Especially for the poor.

LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY
 DECLINE IN THE QUALITY OF HUMAN
LIFE AND THE BREAKDOWN OF SOCIETY
WE WERE NOT MEANT TO BE INUNDATED
BY CEMENT, ASPHALT, GLASS AND METAL,
AND DEPRIVED OF PHYSICAL CONTACT
WITH NATURE.
ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
WILL BE SOLVED BY
TECHNOLOGY

POPULATION SHOULD BE
REDUCED TO PREVENT
ECOLOGICAL HARM
If we scan the regions of our planet,
we immediately see that humanity
has disappointed Gods expectations
-Pope John Paul II
 CHAPTER TWO:
THE GOSPEL OF
CREATION
 I. THE LIGHT OFFERED BY FAITH
Although simply being human is ample motivation
to care for nature and vulnerable human
communities, faith also motivates Christians to care
for the environment and the poor.

II. THE WISDOM OF THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS

The biblical narratives have much to say about the
relationship of human beings with the world.

Human life is grounded in three fundamental and closely

intertwined relationshipswith God, with our neighbor
and with the earth itselfyet these relationships have
been broken, both outwardly and within us, by sin.

The earth was here before us and it has been given to us

by God. Dominion over the earth is not an excuse for
unbridled exploitation
 III. THE MYSTERY OF THE UNIVERSE

The word creation has a broader meaning than

nature, for it has to do with Gods loving plan in which
every creature has its own value and significance.

IV. THE MESSAGE OF EACH CREATURE IN THE

HARMONY OF CREATION
Each creature has its own purpose. The Spirit of
life dwells in every living creature and calls us to
enter into relationship with him.
V. A UNIVERSAL COMMUNION
Humans are linked by unseen bonds and together
form a kind of universal family. Concern for the
environment needs to be joined to a sincere love
for our fellow human beings and an unwavering
commitment to resolving the problems of society.
 VI. THE COMMON DESTINATION OF GOODS

Every ecological approach needs to incorporate a social

perspective that takes into account the fundamental
rights of the poor and the underprivileged.

The natural environment is a collective good. We break

the commandment Thou shall not kill means when
twenty percent of the worlds population consumes
resources at a rate that robs the poor nations and
future generations of what they need to survive.

VI. THE COMMON DESTINATION OF GOODS

Jesus was able to invite others to be attentive to the
beauty of creation because he himself was in constant
touch with nature.
 CHAPTER THREE
THE HUMAN ROOTS OF THE
ECOLOGICAL CRISIS
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
1. TECHNOLOGY: CREATIVITY AND
POWER
The powerful influence of technology calls a need for culture and
spirituality genuinely capable of setting limits and teaching clear-
minded self-restraint.
2. THE GLOBALIZATION OF THE
TECHNOCRATIC PARADIGM
It became an epistemological paradigm which shapes the lives of
individuals. We need to slow down to appropriate the positive
progress we made and recover the great values & goals swept away
by our delusions.
3. THE CRISIS AND EFFECTS OF
MODERN ANTHROPOCENTRISM
Modern anthropocentrism prizes technical thought over reality by
seeing creation as mere raw material for our use.
 IV. INTEGRAL
ECOLOGY

R E P O R T E R : P A C O M A , A I R A A L E X I S P.
SECTION: 1S
I. Environmental, Economic and Social Ecology
II.Cultural Ecology
III.Ecology of Daily Life
IV.The Principle of the Common Good
V.Justice Between the Generations
I. Environmental, Economic and Social Ecology
We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other
social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and
environmental.
I. Environmental, Economic and Social Ecology
Why should we combat poverty and restore
the dignity to the excluded?

Why should we protect nature?

II. Cultural Ecology
Historic, artistic and cultural patrimony is also under threat. There is a need to
incorporate the history, culture and architecture of each place to preserve its
original identity. Culture is more than what we have inherited from the past; it is
also, and above all, a living, dynamic and participatory present reality, which
cannot be excluded as we rethink the relationship between human beings and the
environment.
II. Cultural Ecology

We are still hopeful that we will return to our ancestral

lands. We hope that other people, even those who are
not Lumads, support us in defending our land that means
life to us. (The Lumads resistance to destructive
development agendas imposed on their territories
resulted in the militarization and displacement of their
communities.)
III. Ecology of Daily Life

A wholesome social life can light up a seemingly undesirable

environment.
IV. The Principle of Common Good

The common good is the sum of those

conditions of social life which allow social
groups and their individual members
relatively thorough and ready access to their
own fulfillment.
IV. Justice Between the Generations
The world is a gift which we have freely
received and must share with others.
 Chapter V

LINESOFAPPROACHANDACT
 I.Dialogue on the environment in the
international community

Interdependence obliges us to think of one world with a common plan.
Problem: technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels
coal, oil and gas needs to be progressively replaced without delay.
 World Summits

The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro
It proclaimed that human beings are at the centre of concerns for
sustainable development.
The Conference of the United Nations on Sustainable Development
issued a wide-ranging but became ineffectual outcome document.
 II.Dialogue for new national and local
policies

Questions related to the environment and economic development can
no longer be approached only from the standpoint of differences
between countries; they also call for greater attention to policies on the
national and local levels.
 III.Dialogue and transparency in decision-
making

An assessment of the environmental impact of business ventures and
projects demands transparent political processes.
Environmental impact assessment should not come after the drawing
up of a business proposition or the proposal of a particular policy, plan
or programme.
 IV. Politics and economy in dialogue for
human fulfillment

Politics must not be subject to the economy, nor should the economy be
subject to the dictates of an efficiency-driven paradigm of technocracy.
Environmental protection cannot be assured solely on the basis of
financial calculations of costs and benefits. The environment is one of
those goods that cannot be adequately safeguarded or promoted by
market forces
 V.Religions in dialogue with science

Dialogue among believers and Dialogue among the various sciences are
needed
Problem: each can tend to become enclosed in its own language, while
specialization leads to a certain isolation and the absolutization of its
own field of knowledge.
Solution: An open and respectful dialogue
 CHAPTER 6: ECOLOGICAL
EDUCATION AND SPIRITUALITY
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.
 I. Towards a new lifestyle
Extreme consumerism and compulsive
consumerism is an example of how the techno-
economic paradigm affects the awareness of
individuals.
Humans have the ability to change. A change in
our lifestyle could positively influence those who
wield political, economic, and social power.
II. Educating for the Covenant between Humanity and
the Environment.

If we want to bring about deep change, we need to

realize that certain mindset really do influence our
behaviour. Our efforts at education will be
inadequate and ineffectual unless we strive to
promote a new way of thinking about human
beings, life, society and our relationship with
nature.
III. Ecological Conversion
The external deserts in the world are growing, because
the internal deserts have become so vast. For this
reason, the ecological crisis is also a summons to
profound interior conversion. It must be said that some
committed and prayerful Christians, with the excuse of
pragmatism, tend to ridicule expressions of concern for
the environment.
 IV. Joy and Peace

Christian spirituality proposes an alternative standing of the

quality of life, and encourages a prophetic and
contemplative lifestyle, one capable of deep enjoyment free
of the obsession of consumption
V. Civic and Political Love
Jesus reminded us that we have God as our common
Father and that makes us brothers and sisters. This
same gratuitousness inspires us to love and accept the
wind, the sun and the clouds, even though we cannot
control them. In this sense, we can speak of a
universal fraternity
A framework built on love and care
 VI.Sacramental Signs and the Celebration of Rest
source of light and motivation

VII.The Trinity and the Relationship between creatures

global solidarity

VIII. Mary, Queen of All Creation

IX. Beyond the Sun.