On October 24, Pope Francis released his fourth encyclical, titled Dilexit nos (“He Loved Us”), dedicated to the Sacred Heart. Unlike the widespread political and media interest surrounding Laudato si’ in 2015 or even Fratelli tutti in 2020, this encyclical received little attention beyond Catholic circles. An encyclical’s impact takes time. In 2015, Laudato si’ Read more
I can see the headlines now: “Papal encyclical condemned as sexist.” Groan! Last month, Italian Bishop Domenico Pompili revealed that Pope Francis is preparing a new papal encyclical — the third of his papacy and his first in five years — to focus on the economic, environmental and spiritual change that is necessary to address Read more
The head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has said that a papal encyclical addressing the question of just war theory is possible. Cardinal Peter Turkson said proposals to drop the concept of just war were “legitimate”. He called for a “broad and deeply felt” debate on the question of just war theory. Read more
An Italian cardinal has said Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’ is comparable to Leo XIII’s groundbreaking social encyclical Rerum Novarum. In a front page article in L’Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti wrote that in 1891, Pope Leo “turned the maternal gaze of the Church” to the labour question. This was during the transition away from Read more
Cardinal George Pell has seemingly criticised Pope Francis’s most recent encyclical, arguing that the Church has “no particular expertise in science”. In an interview with the Financial Times, the cardinal appeared to distance himself from the science behind some of the statements in Laudato Si’. In the document, released last month, Francis called for global Read more
The unvarnished truths of the Gospel, compellingly written and lovingly interpreted, make Laudato Si’ an unforgettable document. I began reading it, fascinated as to what Pope Francis would make of the science and politics of climate change. I continued simply overwhelmed by the direct evangelical call to action, personal and collective. The encyclical is no Read more
In his brief pontificate, Pope Francis has coined some colourful terms to get his points across, for example, using “bat Christians” to describe those who hide their faith. While the new phrases he uses in his ecology encyclical are not as punchy, they succinctly help illustrate his points that care for the environment is a Read more
Pope Francis deliberately restructured his environment encyclical Laudato Si’ in order to make it accessible to everyone. Italian Bishop Mario Tosi, formerly secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said the Pope changed the structure of the document from its first draft. The initial version had a long introduction of a theological, liturgical, Read more
Everybody is talking about the Pope’s new environmental encyclical, even though there isn’t much that’s unusual about it. In fact, it’s a document so perfectly in line with usual Catholic teaching that the most illuminating piece of commentary on it I could find was perhaps this 2009 column by The New York Times’ Ross Douthat Read more
On the run? Don’t have time to read Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ 200-page encyclical on the care for the Earth? Here are some of the key quotes from the document: Introduction We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we Read more