The Holy See has published the text of Pope Francis’s second encyclical letter, Laudato Si’, subtitled “on care of our common home.” The encyclical, dated May 24 (Pentecost Sunday) and released June 18, has 246 paragraphs and six chapters: “What is happening to our common home,” “The Gospel of creation,” “The human roots of the ecological crisis,” “Integral ecology,” “Lines of approach and action,” and “Ecological education and spirituality.”
The encyclical begins: “LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord.” In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs.”
This sister 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. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.
Nationally, The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a statement on behalf of his brother bishops welcoming Pope Francis’s second encyclical “with an open heart and with gratitude.” “In this beautiful and extensive treatment on care for our common home, the Holy Father calls all people to consider our deep and intertwined relationships with God, our brothers and sisters, and the gifts that our Creator has provided for our stewardship,” said Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville. Acknowledging that “genuine efforts to true dialogue will require sacrifice and the confronting of good faith disagreements,” the prelate concluded, “May we help answer Pope Francis’ call in this encyclical, receiving his message and growing in responsibility towards the common home that God has entrusted to us all.”
In our Diocese, Bishop Warfel said, “The Holy Father, Pope Francis is challenging all of us to grow in the understanding that there is an integral connection between the care for the human person and the care for the environment. At the heart of the encyclical the question is, ‘What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us?’ His encyclical challenges us to simply our lives, to strip away all that is not necessary in order to rediscover the beauty that God has placed within us, all human persons, and all created things. I personally want to encourage all the Catholics of Eastern Montana and all people of goodwill to read the text and to enter into dialogue which hour Holy Father has begun.”
Bishop Warfel is planning a morning of reflection, information, and discussion on the Pope’s new encyclical on Saturday August 22 in Billings. All are invited. Watch for additional information coming soon. 
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