The Pope’s intention for September is “Respect for the Planet’s Resources: We pray that the planet’s resources will not be plundered, but shared in a just and respectful manner”. We continue with our reflection on the Pope’s Encyclical, “Laudato Si”, ‘On Care for our Common Home’. Today we look at paragraph three:
“3. More than fifty years ago, with the world teetering on the brink of nuclear crisis, Pope Saint John XXIII wrote an Encyclical which not only rejected war but offered a proposal for peace. He addressed his message Pacem in Terris to the entire “Catholic world” and indeed ‘to all men and women of good will”. Now, faced as we are with global environmental deterioration, I wish to address every person living on this planet. In my Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, I wrote to all the members of the Church with the aim of encouraging ongoing missionary renewal. In this Encyclical, I would like to enter into dialogue with all people about our common home.”
Here, Pope Francis compares the need to look seriously at the problem of climate change with the time the Cold War reached crisis point and Pope Saint John XXIIII addressed it. He sees it as crucial. As he proceeds from here he will refer to the popes after John XXIII and what they said in relation to this problem.