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On May 24th, 2015, Pope Francis released his encyclical entitled Laudato Si (Latin for Praise Be to You). It was addressed to all of humanity and meant to shed light on an issue even more potent and urgent today than it was in 2015, climate change. Unlike many other politicians and world leaders at the time, the Holy Father urged people to see climate change from a religious point of view. He critiqued the ‘technocratic’ mindset, in which humanity can prioritize the advancement of technology and science over stewardship to the planet. He calls on us to remember that we are the dust of the earth (Gen 2:7) and that we are dependent on the earth; manipulating the earth harms humanity. He discusses throwaway culture, in which we consume and consume without ever giving back or reusing, treating earth’s resources as if they were infinite.
Pope Francis describes, “a vicious circle which aggravates the situation even more”, more colloquially known as tipping points. These are points at which, when a certain amount of warming has occurred, an irreversible chain reaction is yielded which can have catastrophic effects on the environment. Climate change activist Greta Thunberg, in her travel diary ‘Six Months on a Planet in Crisis’, describes one of these tipping points having a negative effect on the Northern Hemisphere. In America, a certain beetle which is deadly to the native trees typically dies off during winter months. However, with additional warming, most of this beetle population survives winter and kills many trees in the spring. The trees then become like firewood and burn more easily during wildfires, causing them to spread. The ashes from the larger wildfires turn nearby glaciers gray instead of white and they then absorb more heat and melt at an alarming rate. This shows how potentially damaging climate change can be; even a few degrees of warming become amplified with the consequences being more and more severe.
Another global issue needing attention and reflected in climate change is inequality between the rich and poor. Less privileged areas such as Africa and South America often suffer from larger and costlier disasters, such as floods, droughts, and more recently swarms of locusts causing shortages of important crops. These areas not only suffer more natural disasters but have less resources to combat them. So, to attend to the global environment, we have a responsibility to attend to the human environment.
In Chapter 2 of Laudato Si, Pope Francis discusses what the Bible says about climate change. He reminds us that in the Creation story, God created everything in his own image, meaning that all of God’s creation (and that includes the sky, the sea, and the earth) is good and worthy of respect. He states:
After the creation of man and woman, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good” (Gen 1:31). The Bible teaches that every man and woman is created out of love and made in God’s image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26). This shows us the immense dignity of each person, “who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons.”
We must remember that the world we live in is the work of God, and we are at the mercy of God, not the other way around.
What then, can we do to be better stewards of the Earth God has given us? Unfortunately, much of the warming caused is already locked in the atmosphere, and the procedures required to suck millions of tons of carbon out of the atmosphere does not yet exist at the scale necessary at this time, and likely will not for many years. Some might suggest using technology to solve the crisis, but the same methods which have produced the current technological age we live in have proven ineffective in fighting climate change. Pope Francis suggests that a global consensus is needed to start taking adequate action. He says, “Such a consensus could lead, for example, to planning a sustainable and diversified agriculture, developing renewable and less-polluting forms of energy, encouraging a more efficient use of energy, promoting a better management of marine and forest resources and ensuring universal access to drinking water”. For real action to be taken, we all must commit to being part of the solution. We must have a responsible approach to climate change to ensure a better future for all.
Pope Francis inspires us by concluding his encyclical with this Prayer for the Earth:
A prayer for our earth
All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.
Amen.
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