Pope Francis has published an ‘Apostolic Exhortation’ entitled Laudate Deum (‘Praise God’). It is dated October 4, 2023. He starts with the following statement.
Eight years have passed since I published the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, when I wanted to share with all of you, my brothers and sisters of our suffering planet, my heartfelt concerns about the care of our common home. Yet, with the passage of time, I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point.
Laudato Sí was an encyclical published in the year 2015. It is the most important church document to do with climate change that has been written; we refer to it many times in our posts and in the book that we are writing. The posts include:
An Episcopal book group of which I am a member spent about six weeks earlier this year studying Laudato Sí. The group found the encyclical to be powerful and important. However, it was published in the year 2015, and much has happened to the climate since then, and most of the news has been bad. The participants agreed that Laudato Sí needed an update. Evidently Francis felt the same way.
This new document, Laudate Deum, is divided into the following major sections.
The Global Climate Crisis
A Growing Technocratic Paradigm
The Weakness of International Politics
Climate Conferences: Progress and Failures
What to Expect from COP28 in Dubai?
Spiritual Motivations
As time permits, we will discuss the contents of Laudato Deum in future posts.
