A few days before the start of the Season of Creation, an ecumenical period to pray and act for creation from September 1 to October 4th, Pope Francis mentioned that he is writing “a second part of Laudato Si’, to update it on current issues.”
What themes will Francis include in this new version of Laudato Si’? Although we do not yet know, it is clear that the Pope’s last interventions on environmental issues were decisive.
As was the case in his message for the next Creation Day in which he mentioned that “the unrestrained burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of forests are pushing temperatures higher and leading to massive droughts”, in addition to mentioning “the effects of war” and “rapacious consumerism”.
Francis made this surprising announcement before a delegation of lawyers from the member states of the Council of Europe, signatories of the Vienna Declaration. He told them: “I am deeply appreciative of the care that you show for the earth, our common home, and for your willingness to work for the development of a normative framework aimed at protecting the environment.”
In turn, he mentioned: “It must never be forgotten that future generations are entitled to receive from our hands a beautiful and habitable world, and that this entails grave responsibilities towards the natural world that we have received from the benevolent hands of God.”
Eight years after the publication of Laudato Si’, the world has witnessed an increase in extreme weather events, such as more intense and prolonged heat waves, more frequent forest fires and more severe hurricanes.
Meanwhile, Francis is preparing for his apostolic journey from August 31 to September 4 to Mongolia, whose capital, Ulaanbaatar, is one of the most polluted cities in the world.
We trust the Holy Father to include in this new encyclical dedicated to the whole world today’s problems, including the impact of man-made wars and conflicts on God’s Creation.