Carol Fri Sep 25, 2015 11:54 am
Pope Francis has already announced an extraordinary Year of Jubilee with the themes of forgiveness and mercy. He has also become particularly outspoken on certain issues including most notably and most recently the publishing of his 180 page encyclical entitled 'On Care For Our Common Home'. In this encyclical, he champions the need for an 'integral ecology' approach saying in his opening remarks,
"I do not want to write this Encyclical without turning to that attractive and compelling figure, whose name I took as my guide and inspiration when I was elected Bishop of Rome. I believe that Saint Francis [of Assisi] is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically." (Para 10)
Pope Francis talks about tackling the continued degradation of all forms on our planet stating in Paragraph 48,
"The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation."
Paragraph 56,
"In the meantime, economic powers continue to justify the current global system where priority tends to be given to speculation and the pursuit of financial gain, which fail to take the context into account, let alone the effects on human dignity and the natural environment. Here we see how environmental deterioration and human and ethical degradation are closely linked. Many people will deny doing anything wrong because distractions constantly dull our consciousness of just how limited and finite our world really is. As a result, “whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenceless before the interests of a deified market, which become the only rule”.
Pope Francis in these quoted statements is imploring that we restore and renew our stewardship of the Earth and its myriad flora and fauna, while also addressing the "grave social debt" suffered by the poorest, through no fault of their own. With regards to both ills, he lays the blame squarely on the vested interests of the rich elite.
His address to the UN is particularly notable in this regard as he will actually kick off the UN Sustainable Development Summit being held that very week from the 25th-27th September.