Care For Our Commom Home
Laudato Si' is an appeal from Pope Francis addressed to "every person living on this planet" about how we are shaping the future of Earth. Pope Francis calls the Church, the world, and each person to acknowledge the urgency of our environmental challenges and to join him in embarking on a new path. The last three popes have all called these challenges “a moral issue.” This encyclical (Papal letter), the first to focus solely on ecology and human’s place within and relationship with God’s creation, is written with both hope and resolve, looking to our common future with candor and humility. Pope Francis, emphasizing the importance of the document, has explicitly stated that the encyclical is now added to the body of the Catholic Church’s social teaching. Learn more about the Holy Father’s statement and how you might respond in faith by exploring this website.
On Care for Our Common Home
Click here to read the complete Papal Encyclical (Laudato Si’), of the Holy Father Francis.
Tips on Caring for Our Common Home
Disinterested concern for others, and rejection of every form of self-centeredness and self-absorption, are essential if we truly wish to care for our brothers and sisters and for the natural environment and to the moral imperative of assessing the impact of our every action and personal decision on the world around us. (#208)
Engage in forthright and honest discussions about environmental problems and policies, understanding that issues cannot be dealt with once and for all. Ongoing discussion will allow issues to be continually reframed and enriched with a variety of valid viewpoints and possible solutions.
Consider buying at least one less Christmas gift this year and instead spend time with a special person or donate to a cause serving the most vulnerable. Large-scale consumer goods production requires enormous energy and resources. Buying even one less gift moves toward a more sustainable lifestyle.
Look for way to recycle protective materials from packages you receive. Some local package-shipping offices will accept materials such as plastic peanuts and bubble wrap. Bubble wrap also can be packaged in a plastic grocery bag and placed in your recycle cart. Find out where to recycle in your area at www.earth911.com.
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Pope Francis' TED Talk
In a 2017 TED Talk, the Pope spoke on Why the only future worth building includes everyone. He is a strong advocate of global action against climate change, to which he has devoted his powerful 2015 encyclical, Laudato sì ("Praise be to you"). He invites us to practice "tenderness," putting ourselves "at the level of the other," to listen and care.
View the following short videos
Learn more about Praise Be to You the Papal Encyclical (Laudato Si’) of the Holy Father Francis On Care for Our Common Home. Use the video icons with “play” arrows.
Laudato Si’
This 6-minute, un-narrated, bilingual video is the official Vatican video about On Care for Our Common Home
Top 10 Things You Need to Know
about Pope Francis' Laudato Si’
This 4-minute video narrated by Fr. James Martin, SJ, editor-at- large of the Jesuit magazine America presents highlights of On Care for our Common Home.
Live Wisely, Think Deeply
This 4-minute animated video by the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development (CAFOD) presents highlights of On Care for Our Common Home for children.
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What you can do to care for our common home and still shop … Guide to Green Shoppping https://www.jomashop.com/blog/articles/guide-to-green-shopping