Laudate Deum

On 4 October, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis’ new Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum (‘Praise God’) was published. The exhortation ‘clarifies and completes’ the Pope’s 2015 Exhortation Laudato si’ in addressing the climate crisis.

The exhortation consists of six chapters, which address the global climate crisis, the fragility of nature, the weakness of international politics, the progress (and failure) of recent climate crisis conferences, and the spiritual motivation to protect the planet.

Bishop John Arnold, Lead Bishop for Environmental Issues for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, praises the Pope’s intervention as ‘timely’ and ‘vital.’ He says, ‘I thoroughly welcome the timely and prophetic words of Pope Francis in Laudate Deum who once again implores the international community to alter the path of destruction down which we are heading. He reminds us that we should praise God for all His creatures and that our care for our common home is intimately connected with our care for each other. As Pope Francis explains, the decisions we make can have grave consequences, not only for those who are still living, but the generations to follow. We have a duty to take action to look after our planet. ‘What is being asked of us is nothing other than a certain responsibility for the legacy we will leave behind, once we pass from this world.‘

Read the English text of Pope Francis’s Apostolic Exhortation ‘Laudate Deum’ via THIS LINK.