Pope Francis invites action on Care for Our Common Home

In his encyclical Laudato Si’ Pope Francis invited all people to take care of our common home on Earth. Now in a papal video message the Pope is inviting all of us to respond together under the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform.

The Pope says that the Earth is suffering from an irresponsible use of its resources and a predatory attitude to human mastery. He sees this manifest in an unprecedented ecological crisis in its soils, air, water and the overall ecosystem that humans live in.

Pope Francis explains that our health is not disconnected from the health of the environment we live in, but that everything is interconnected and interdependent. The current pandemic shows this “cry of the Earth” more strongly and also the “cry of the poor”, of the vulnerable who will suffer most from the impacts.

There is a need for a new ecological approach that transforms our way of living, our relationship with the Earth’s resources and the way we look at people. The Pope proposes an integral human ecology – involving not only the environment, but also people, the cry of the poor, and society.

He says we have a great responsibility, especially towards future generations. “What kind of world do we want to leave to our children? Our selfishness, our indifference, and our irresponsible lifestyles are threatening the future of our children! From the hands of God we have received a garden. We cannot leave a desert to our children.”

The Pope sees an opportunity for a better future. “I am pleased to announce a concrete action project, the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.” The platform comprises a seven-year journey, involving communities in different ways, so that they can become totally sustainable.

The journey is to be guided by the Laudato Si’ goals– responding to the cry of the Earth and to the cry of the poor, taking up ecological spirituality, economics and education, simple lifestyles and community empowerment.

The Pope invites everyone to tackle this journey together to create a better future. He particularly mentions families, parishes and dioceses, schools and universities, hospitals, businesses and farms, religious organisations, groups and movements – all working together.

There is hope, we can all cooperate, each with their own culture and experience, each one with their own initiatives and abilities, so that the Earth returns to its original beauty and creation returns to shine according to God’s plan.