Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Agnes M. BrazalJune 19, 2015
Children swim in a swollen river on Samar Island, Philippines, Dec. 8. Typhoon Hagupit left at least 21 people dead and forced more than a million people into shelters (CNS photo/Francis R. Malasig, EPA).

Coming from a fragile archipelago where the rise in sea level is highest in the world and extreme weather events are predicted to further increase this century, I worry for our future and fervently hope that the clarion call of Pope Francis will be heeded. “Laudato Si’” enjoins all people of goodwill to be concerned about what is happening to our common home. He calls on rich nations to repay their ecological debt to the developing countries by reducing consumption of nonrenewable energy and assisting them in shifting to clean energy and a more sustainable development. He points out the need to address corruption in government in developing countries, which has allowed multinational corporations to unjustly exploit the local resources in ways they could never have done in their home countries.

The encyclical underlines that everyone can do something for our common home. In response to this call, each diocese of the church in the Philippines, in collaboration with other faiths and civil society organizations, can plan to educate and mobilize communities to protect the environment and the threatened resources and species in the area. This without doubt would leave a trail of ecological martyrs. The Global Witness reports that almost a thousand environmental activists opposing mining, deforestation, etc. have been killed from 2002-2013 worldwide, with the number jumping to 20 percent in 2014, a sign that we are in the midst of a global environmental crisis. 

To sustain this commitment as “ecological citizens” thus necessitates a spirituality that inspires, nurtures and provides ultimate meaning to our personal and communal acts. Though “Laudato Si’” explicitly speaks of spirituality only in the last chapter, the whole encyclical is distinctively about an integrative eco-spirituality based on an integral ecology that links labor, technological and social development, with care for creation and the diversity of life forms and cultures, and a special concern for the poor and the vulnerable. The pope elaborates that in the Christian tradition this spirituality finds its deep source in the gospel of creation, the Trinitarian communion and the world as sacrament of this communion.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

African and European bishops say European leaders are prioritizing their own countries' benefits from African land deals, ahead of creating a system that is equitable and positive for African communities.
A surprising lesson about serving God and others from the popular Instagram page Humans of New York
Simcha FisherMay 20, 2025
Catholics suffer from widespread ignorance of important, historical precedents of both female and lay ecclesial leadership.
Bronwen McSheaMay 20, 2025
A woman holds an American flag as people gather ahead of the inauguration Mass for Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on May 18. (OSV News photo/Yara Nardi, Reuters)
Leo has sought to be a uniter calling for a more peaceful world. We need leaders who remind us of what is possible, who bring out the best in us while discouraging the worst.
Timothy ShriverMay 19, 2025