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
“There is a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions, and it is wonderful how education can bring about real changes in lifestyle. Education in environmental responsibility can encourage ways of acting which directly and significantly affect the world around us…” (Laudato Si’, 211)
Buy used items whenever feasible, and if possible repair rather than replace broken items. In most cases this will save money, but it also will preserve resources and reduce overall consumption.
Try to eliminate as much disposable plastic from your life as possible; it breaks down into tiny particles that enter streams, lakes and oceans, harming harm fish and other wildlife. Instead, keep a reusable water bottle; wash and reuse plastic sandwich and snack bags, or try replacing them with waxed paper or waxed-paper bags, which can be composted.
Get involved with, or organize, a group to clean up public spaces in your neighborhood and keep them clean and nice looking. In addition to enhancing your surroundings, you will be setting a positive example of how to be good stewards of God's creation.
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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