Latest news with #LaudatoSi'Movement
Herald Malaysia
2 days ago
- General
- Herald Malaysia
The living legacy of Laudato Si'
Despite the noisy splattering of news headlines on the surface, Laudato Si' set in motion a powerful undercurrent that is sweeping through the ocean. Or, rather, it dramatically accelerated an undercurrent that was already underway. Jun 06, 2025 Pope Francis plants a tree in the Vatican Gardens October 4, 2019. (Laudato Si'Movement) By Tomás InsuaDespite the noisy splattering of news headlines on the surface, Laudato Si' set in motion a powerful undercurrent that is sweeping through the ocean. Or, rather, it dramatically accelerated an undercurrent that was already underway. • The birth of the global Laudato Si'Movement, with its nearly 20,000 grassroots leaders trained as Laudato Si' animators, and of ecclesial networks regionally. • Countless projects in parishes and local communities to install renewable energy, divest from fossil fuels, and other tangible steps, supported by the Vatican's Laudato Si' Action Platform. • Beautiful artistic interpretations of the encyclical, such as the film 'The Letter: A Message for Our Earth' by an Oscarwinning company. • Academic ventures such as the joint diploma in integral ecology by pontifical universities in Rome or the Laudato Si' Research Institute at Oxford University in England. • The ASSISI Terra Laudato Si' initiative in the Franciscan sanctuaries of Assisi, Italy. The list goes on and on. Moreover, Francis coupled the Laudato Si' release with an equally important sister. Just a few weeks after publishing the encyclical, he instituted the World Day of Prayer for Creation on Sept 1 — also known as Creation Day or the Feast of Creation — in response to an invitation of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Through annual statements marking that special day, Francis continued to motivate the church to bring Laudato Si' to life in collaboration with fellow Christian churches, also as part of the larger Season of Creation celebrations throughout September. Thousands of parishes and local communities celebrate it every year. The most important legacy of Laudato Si' will be the decisive attention it brought to the spiritual and moral roots of these interconnected crises. Given the sheer scale of this mess, it is imperative to address those root causes. The theology and spirituality of Laudato Si' are beginning to permeate the ethos of the Catholic Church. That is the powerful undercurrent in the ocean. Slowly but steadily, creation is gaining more attention in Christian spirituality, theology, liturgy and catechesis, with countless books and initiatives underway. Creation Day on Sept. 1, in particular, stands out for its potential to become a liturgical feast in many Christian churches, grounded in ancient and rich symbolism in the Eastern Church. Tomás Insua, --NCR
09-05-2025
- Politics
What Pope Leo XIV has said about climate change
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV could continue in his predecessor's footsteps as the steward of the environment of the Catholic Church, according to environmental experts. American-born Robert Francis Prevost, now the 267th leader of the Catholic Church, has been outspoken about the need for action to fight global warming, according to the College of Cardinals Report -- a document that offers profiles on dozens of papal candidates. Leo has in the past warned against the "harmful" consequences of unchecked technological advancement and aligns closely with Francis' environmental priorities, his profile states. The new pope has spoken about global warming as recent as November 2024. During a seminar in Rome dedicated to " addressing the problems of the environmental crisis," Leo said it was time to move "from words to action" on the environmental crisis. He praised efforts by the Vatican to reduce its carbon footprint by installing solar panels and switching to electric vehicles. The conference brought cardinals together to discuss the negative impacts climate change imposes on the most vulnerable populations around the world. Prevost also stressed at the time the need for the Catholic Church's involvement in the climate fight is based on the Social Doctrine of the Church -- a fundamental framework of social teachings. Humans must engage in a "relationship of reciprocity" with the environmental, rather than "tyrannical," Leo said. Environmentalists and climate leaders lauded the election of Leo as the pope, who they expect will continue the environmental legacy left by Pope Francis, whom Leo served as a senior adviser. Lorna Gold, executive director of the Laudato Si' Movement -- a global network of Catholic organizations -- described Leo as "a man who stands for unity, peace, and action for our planet." "A man who will no doubt continue in the tradition of Leo XIII who broke the mould and ushered in a new era with the first Catholic social teaching, Rerum Novarum," Gold said in a statement. Ana Toni, the CEO of the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) being held in Brazil in November, said she hopes Leo will use his voice to expand Catholic efforts worldwide to mitigating global warming. "I hope Pope Leo XIV will be the inspirational leader for the peace and solidarity we need in these troubled times, and expand the Catholic Church's efforts to address the climate crisis, energizing followers, governments, and leaders around the world to unite and protect life in our wonderful Planet," Toni said in a statement. Leo's dual American and Peruvian nationalities -- as well as his "charismatic personality" and ability to connect with the people of the church -- will help him reach wide audiences when speaking out against environmental issues, Manuel Pulgar Vidal, global leader of climate and energy at the World Wildlife Fund, said in a statement. "Leo XIV's closeness to Francis is evident," Vidal said. "His commitment has been expressed not only to the climate but also to the poor and migrants, which is very good not only for the Church but for humanity." Pope Francis was the first pontiff in history to take a public stance on combating climate change. During his inaugural Mass in St. Peter's Square just days after being elected pope in 2013, Francis emphasized the need for all people on Earth to assume the role of "protector" of the environment. Francis' stance on global warming intertwined with his central message to uplift the poor, acknowledging that climate-related disasters disproportionately threaten the world's poorest citizens. declared in 2023.
Axios
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
The world may have another climate pope
Don't expect Pope Leo XIV to file comments in EPA dockets, but he could build upon the late Pope Francis' unprecedented Vatican focus on climate change. Why it matters: The pope has a massive bully pulpit as leader of a church with 1.4 billion members worldwide, and reaches people well beyond that. The Vatican lacks official power to sway policies, but lots of global climate architecture already operates on persuasion — the Paris agreement doesn't force nations to do anything. And there's scaffolding around papal climate efforts now, with Francis giving rise to the Laudato Si' Movement based on his 2015 encyclical on the topic. Driving the news: Leaders of the next UN climate summit in Brazil quickly invited the new pope to attend. "The COP30 Presidency hopes to welcome Pope Leo XIV in Belem in November to help us reach a climate agreement that will mark a turning point in the creation of a more prosperous, safer, fairer and sustainable future," Ana Toni, the summit's CEO, said in a statement. The intrigue: The career of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost — now Pope Leo — offers a breadcrumb trail showing his interest in climate. Last year, per the Vatican's official news service, he told an environmental seminar that it's time to move "from words to action." He called for "reciprocity" with nature, cautioned against harms from technology and praised the Vatican's installation of solar panels and use of EVs. In 2017, he reposted an X (then Twitter) post encouraging President Trump to read Francis' encyclical. What they're saying: Arun Agrawal, a Notre Dame professor of development policy, offered initial thoughts on the new American pope while cautioning that it's early days. "[W]e can expect some continuity but we should also expect both innovation and new ideas to come from the new Pontiff as he leads the Vatican to address sustainability challenges," he said via email. He expects Leo's work to be informed by his long service in Peru and his background in church governance. Leo has "intimate familiarity with context where marginality, poverty, and vulnerability are widespread" that will inform his thinking on climate, water, sustainability and more. What we're watching: Francis' encyclical had rather skeptical — or at least complicated — feelings about technology, and Agrawal sees some connective tissue between the two men. "I think both Pope Francis and Pope Leo have a critique of simply technological innovation being enough. Accordingly, the innovation has to be in our institutions and our hearts and minds and how to connect these changes to those in the world," he said.
Japan Times
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
The next pope will help decide the planet's fate
A symbolic turning point for U.S. climate policy, and by extension the world, happened when President Ronald Reagan removed the solar panels that his predecessor, Jimmy Carter, had installed at the White House, signaling a return to business as usual — i.e., burning more fossil fuels and hastening a growing climate crisis. After the death of Pope Francis, the Roman Catholic Church's choice of successor could be a similar sliding-doors moment. When much of the world, including its biggest economy, is retreating from climate activism and embracing a cynical climate "realism,' the Vatican has a chance to stand out by electing another vocal environmentalist to lead nearly 1.4 billion Catholics. And as with Carter and Reagan, solar panels are involved again. Roughly a decade before his death this weekend, Pope Francis had already established his credentials as the greenest pope of at least the fossil-fuel era. His landmark May 2015 encyclical Laudato Si' made a compelling spiritual and moral case for protecting "our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us,' but "now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her.' The document, which author Bill McKibben suggests was "arguably the most important piece of writing so far this millennium,' helped motivate world leaders to set the aggressive global-heating targets of the Paris accord later that year. It also inspired the Laudato Si' Movement, a network of hundreds of Catholic groups around the world dedicated to environmental protection and justice. The church's Laudato Si' Action Platform helps people, congregations and other groups find ways to take climate action. Francis returned to the theme again and again, including his 2023 encyclical Laudate Deum, in which he expressed dismay that the world wasn't living up to the ideals of the Paris agreement. Since then, he had to witness the U.S. government falling back into the hands of an even more extreme anti-environmentalist than Reagan. U.S. President Donald Trump has attacked climate science, clean-energy funding, regulations and even the use of the word "climate.' One of the pope's last visitors was U.S. Vice President JD Vance, whose position on climate has shifted as his status within the Republican Party and donations from fossil-fuel companies have risen. In a less-famous writing last June, Fratello Sole ("Brother Sun'), Francis ordered the construction of an agrivoltaic solar array on land on the outskirts of Rome, meant to provide enough juice for not only the Vatican's radio station there but the entire city-state — possibly making it "the first nation powered entirely by the sun,' McKibben points out. With fanfare, the Vatican displayed new solar panels on its museum roof last December. The conclave (which will sadly not involve Ralph Fiennes) to pick the next pope will be a wrestling match between traditionalists and reformers of Francis' ilk, my Bloomberg Opinion colleague Howard Chua-Eoan notes. In that sense, Vatican politics may not be so different from regular politics, with its back-and-forth between liberals and conservatives. And just as much of the world's politics have swung rightward recently, the church's constituency has also grown more conservative. The next pope might consider environmental pleas a distraction from the office's traditional role. Maybe that pope won't rip the solar panels from the Vatican roof. Maybe he'll even let that agrivoltaic project to go forward. No matter what he does, he can't possibly harm the climate cause as deeply as Trump and Vance are doing. But by simply depriving the world of a powerful moral voice for action when so many other such voices are going quiet, a Catholic church leader that ignores the climate can still do plenty of harm. During those brief times when Francis was alive and Trump was in office, you could ironically look to a millennia-old religious institution as being more forward-thinking about the environment than the U.S. government. To lose that example would be tragic. Mark Gongloff is a Bloomberg Opinion editor and columnist covering climate change.
