Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth said Laudato Si' should change the way Catholics think, act and pray.

In a pastoral message for the first World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on September 1, Bishop Egan challenged his diocese, saying: "Everyone should acquire a renewed awareness of environmental and ecological issues."

He said that by placing Portsmouth diocese on what he described as "environmental alert", he hoped that Catholics would be moved to live "more simply and without wastefulness".

Among various ideas for action, the bishop suggested Catholic confess ecological sins.

"We should examine our life-styles, seeking [God's] mercy for any sins we may have committed against an integral ecology."

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