Essay: Laudato Si’, Care for Creation… Naturally!

Pope Francis, over the last several years, has globally called Catholics and all religions to recognize the effects of climate change on our Earth. Through his various encyclicals, he has reminded us that the Earth is God’s creation and our moral obligation as Catholics is to be responsible stewards of this earth, not to dominate it. The Pope’s Encyclical, Laudato Si’—which is Latin, meaning Praise Be to You—shares that caring for our common home, the Earth, is anchored in our faith, encouraging conservation, earth restoration, preservation, hope, and action.

At St. Ignatius Loyola, the new ministry Laudato Si’/Care for Creation, has been launched. We celebrated in October with a prayer service at the Church that expressed our gratitude to the Lord for our Earth. Over time the ministry will continue to develop programming and provide insights on this very salient topic for all of us at the parish. Our goal is to sharpen the lens on becoming good stewards of God’s Creation. One of the most important keys to understanding this encyclical is Pope Francis’ understanding of the interconnectedness of a healthy environment and a healthy society, and the relationship between care for creation and care for the poor.

It’s a complex topic and may seem daunting and overwhelming, yet Dr. Katharine Hayhoe’s book, Saving Us, helped us understand how to talk about these issues. To summarize, she explains how the carbon output adds an extra blanket to the earth thus disrupting nature: the sun, ocean, and land, while also affecting our basic needs, like air, water, food, and those who are most vulnerable, the poor. Dr. Hayhoe’s practical approach goes on to say that changing behavior is easier said than done and requires sincere thought and conscience, along with balancing the needs, lifestyles, and economies in the world. It’s about restoring the earth and its ecosystem and, at the same time knowing that our society and global economies, in order to function, rely heavily on resources and energy developed from the Industrial Revolution. Yet, with all this, she shares what Pope Francis also believes, that there is hope.

So how and where do we start? Easy… for some of us we need to become more aware of the issues and then talk about them to others in an amicable Christian way. In other words, becoming good stewards of God’s Creation and talking about it should come, shall we say… Naturally!

— Jean Santopatre, Pastoral Associate & Laudato Si’ Ministry

For more information, email Jean Santopatre at [email protected].