Laudato si ('Praise Be to You') is the second encyclical of Pope Francis, subtitled "on care for our common home". In it, the Pope criticizes consumerism and irresponsible economic development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take "swift and unified global action".
The encyclical, dated 24 May 2015, was officially published at noon on 18 June 2015, accompanied by a news conference. The Vatican released the document in Italian, German, English, Spanish, French, Polish, Portuguese, and Arabic, alongside the original Latin. The original work has been set to music, and used in film.
The encyclical is the second published by Pope Francis, after Lumen fidei (The Light of Faith), which was released in 2013. Since Lumen fidei was largely the work of Francis's predecessor Benedict XVI, Laudato si is generally viewed as the first encyclical that is entirely the work of Francis. Religious commentators often highlight similarities with subsequent works like the 2023 Laudate Deum.
The encyclical has been widely referenced by faith and environmental leaders both inside and outside the catholic church. In particular scientists and environmental activist praised the moral clarity of Francis for connecting religion with the practical scientific issues like the climate crises.
Structure The document is organised as follows: Introduction: (sections 1-16) Chapter 1: What is happening to our common home? (sections 17–61) Chapter 2: The Gospel of Creation (sections 62–100). While this chapter deals with "the convictions of believers", the Pope notes his awareness that some people reject, or merely tolerate, this perspective. Chapter 3: The human roots of the ecological crisis (sections 101–136) Chapter 4: Integral ecology (sections 137–162) Chapter 5: Lines of approach and action (sections 163–201) Chapter 6: Ecological education and spirituality (sections 202–246) The text is followed by two prayers (pages 178–180).
The six substantive chapters each have their "own subject and specific approach", but build cumulatively on the preceding chapters.
Content
The title of the social encyclical is a Central Italian phrase from Francis of Assisi's 13th-century "Canticle of the Sun" (also called the Canticle of the Creatures), a poem and prayer in which God is praised for the creation of the different creatures and aspects of the Earth.
The tone of the Pope's phrasing has been described as "cautious and undogmatic, and he specifically calls for discussion and dialogue". For example, he states in the encyclical (#188):
There are certain environmental issues where it is not easy to achieve a broad consensus. Here I would state once more that the Church does not presume to settle scientific questions or to replace politics. But I am concerned to encourage an honest and open debate so that particular interests or ideologies will not prejudice the common good.
He adds that "Although the post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most irresponsible in history, nonetheless there is reason to hope that humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities." Francis does state that concern for the natural world is no longer "'optional' but is an integral part of the Church teaching on social justice."
Francis reportedly has said that the encyclical was not really an environmental document at all. The warming of the planet is a symptom of a greater problem: the developed world's indifference to the destruction of the planet as nations pursue short-term economic gains. This has resulted in a "throwaway culture" in which unwanted items and unwanted people, such as the unborn, the elderly, and the poor, are discarded as waste. This subtext makes the document "more profoundly subversive" than it appears on the surface.
The real problem, according to Francis, lies in the fact that humans no longer see God as the Creator. Thus we see "other living beings as mere objects subjected to arbitrary human domination" and do not realize that "the ultimate purpose of other creatures is not found in us". Francis says that instead of viewing humanity as having "dominion" over the earth, we must see that everything is interconnected and that all of creation is a "kind of universal family". Nature cannot be seen as something apart from humanity, or merely the place where we live. He says that our social and environmental crises are thus one complex crisis that must be solved holistically.
Environmentalism
The Catholic Church, even after the Second Vatican Council, had put some distance between itself and the modern environmentalist movement. This was due primarily to concerns about Malthusian-derived concepts about population control and how that related to Catholic moral teachings on aspects such as artificial contraception and abortion, as emphasised in Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae.Pepinster, Catherine. (2020). "Church should be 'bolder' on environment". The Tablet Martin Palmer, an Anglican who was previously the Secretary General of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (an NGO created by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1995 to change the views of religions on environmentalism and global warming) claims that Francis' encyclical "really helped, but now unfortunately, people in the Vatican still fear they will be attacked or compromised over this."
Francis "pulls no punches" when lamenting pollution, climate change, a lack of clean water, loss of biodiversity, and an overall decline in human life and a breakdown of society. "Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last two hundred years," he states.
He "describe[s] a relentless exploitation and destruction of the environment, for which he blamed apathy, the reckless pursuit of profits, excessive faith in technology and political shortsightedness." Laudato si "unambiguously accepts the scientific consensus that changes in the climate are largely man-made" and states that "climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day" and warns of "unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequence for all of us" if prompt climate change mitigation efforts are not undertaken.
The encyclical highlights the role of fossil fuels in causing climate change. "We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels – especially coal, but also oil and, to a lesser degree, gas – needs to be progressively replaced without delay," Francis says. "Until greater progress is made in developing widely accessible sources of renewable energy, it is legitimate to choose the less harmful alternative or to find short-term solutions." The encyclical's comments on climate change are consistent with the scientific consensus on climate change.
Poverty Concern for the environment is partnered with concern for people:California Catholic Conference, the staff office of the California Catholic Conference of Bishops, Laudato si' (Praise Be), published 18 June 2015, accessed 30 December 2023 "We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental." The encyclical "points out that we continue to tolerate inequality, in which some consider themselves more worthy than others, going on to assert that developed nations are morally obligated to assist developing nations in combating the climate-change crisis. Poor nations, the pontiff says, are ill-prepared to adapt to the effects of climate change and will bear the brunt of its effects. He suggests that the priorities of the poorest countries in the world should be: to eliminate extreme poverty and to promote the social development of their people to acknowledge the scandalous level of consumption in some privileged sectors of their population and to combat corruption more effectively, and to develop less polluting forms of energy production, but [with] the help of countries which have experienced great growth at the cost of the ongoing pollution of the planet. Linking the issues of poverty, which was a major issue in his papacy, and the environment, he insists that the world must "hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor".
He does not believe, according to the editor of First Things, R. R. Reno, that "for all our flaws, Western societies are more democratic, more egalitarian, and more inclusive than any in history." Citing the New Zealand Bishops' Conference Statement on Environmental Issues, Francis asks "what the commandment 'Thou shall not kill' means when 'twenty percent of the world's population consumes resources at a rate that robs the poor nations and future generations of what they need to survive.'"
Science and modernism "Science and religion, with their distinctive approaches to understanding reality, can enter into an intense dialogue fruitful for both", according to the pontiff. Religions, including Christianity, can make "rich contributions ... towards an integral ecology and the full development of humanity," however, "the scientific and experimental method" itself can be part of the problem when it decouples creation from the Creator.
Reno criticizes the encyclical, writing Laudato si makes "many fierce denunciations of the current global order". This global order "destroys environment, oppresses the multitudes, and makes us blind to the beauty of creation." According to Reno, the critiques of the scientific and technocratic present contained in the encyclical make this "perhaps the most anti-modern encyclical since the Syllabus of Errors, Pius IX's haughty 1864 dismissal of the conceits of the modern era". He adds that the encyclical's tone lacks elements commonly found in the works of John Paul II and Benedict XVI that, in the tradition of Gaudium et spes, would have affirmed the modern world while correcting its errors.
Technology Modern technology, the "dominant technocratic paradigm", is seen as a key contributor to the environmental crisis and human suffering. In the technocratic paradigm, Pope Francis points out, technology is viewed as the "principal key to the meaning of existence" and asks the world to "resist" the "assault" of the technocratic paradigm.
B. P. Green observes that Francis's "continual rejection of the 'technocratic paradigm' in the encyclical" should not confuse the reader into thinking that he rejects technological progress itself.Green, B. P., The Catholic Church and Technological Progress: Past, Present, and Future, Religions, 2017, 8(6), special issue on Religion and the New Technologies, accessed 11 September 2023