In his historic encyclical on ecology, Laudato Si’, Pope Francis calls on all people to care for creation and our common home. Pope Francis makes clear that our care for one another and our care for the earth are intimately connected, noting that humanity is not faced “with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.” (Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home)
A Catholic response to climate change places care for creation and care for poor and vulnerable people who are most affected by climate change impacts at the center of its response. As the U.S. Catholic bishops wrote in their pastoral statement, Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue Prudence and the Common Good, “Action to mitigate global climate change must be built upon a foundation of social and economic justice.”
During his 2015 visit to the United States, Pope Francis said, “Climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our ‘common home’, we are living at a critical moment of history.”
The Very Rev. Arturo Sosa, S.J., current Superior General of the Society of Jesus, announced four Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs) that will guide the mission of the Jesuits for the next 10 years. Included in the UAPs are the call to “Collaborate, with Gospel depth, for the protection and renewal of God’s Creation,” and to, “Walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice.” As partners in ministry with the Jesuits through our shared Ignatian charism, we are called to allow these themes to capture our imagination and to guide our work, especially on the issue of climate change as failure to address this urgent global issue confronting the human family will affect the lives of historically marginalized groups around the world.