Highlights from new Encyclical

These are some highlights of ‘Laudato Si', Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment....on subjects ranging from abortion to consumerism. An encyclical is a long essay written by a Pope every 2 years or so. "Laudato Si" means "Praised be...." the first words of the text, taken from St Francis of Assisi.....“Praise be to you, my Lord.”

On waste
The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.

On the extinction of species
Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right.

On God’s love
The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, his boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God.
 
On climate change
A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system...... 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.

On the need for action
Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain. We may well be leaving to coming generations debris, desolation and filth. The pace of consumption, waste and environmental change has so stretched the planet’s capacity that our contemporary lifestyle can only precipitate catastrophes. The effects of the present imbalance can only be reduced by our decisive action, here and now.

A nun reading the text of the Encyclical 'Laudato Si."

On consumerism
Less is more.” A constant flood of new consumer goods can baffle the heart and prevent us from cherishing each thing and each moment.
 
On 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.”

On gender ideology
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.

On progress
Humanity has changed profoundly, and the accumulation of constant novelties exalts a superficiality which pulls us in one direction. It becomes difficult to pause and recover depth in life. Nobody is suggesting a return to the Stone Age, but we do need to slow down and look at reality in a different way, to appropriate the positive and sustainable progress which has been made, but also to recover the values and the great goals swept away by our unrestrained delusions of grandeur.