Thursday, November 30, 2017

Video Message to Costa Rica

From 29 November until 1st December 2017 in San Josè, Costa Rica, there is an International Symposium being conducted on the theme: Laudato Si': The care of our common home, a needed conversation about human ecology.  The gathering has been organized by the Catholic University of Costa Rica and by the Vatican Joseph Razinger-Benedict XVI Foundation.


Video Message of His Holiness, Pope Francis
offered to participants taking part in the
International Symposium on Laudato Si'

I greet all of you who are participating in this Symposium organized by the Catholic University of Costa Rica with the collaboration of the Ratzinger Foundation.  I thank the President of the Republic for the support given to this initiative, which promotes a cause close to my heart.

With the Encyclical Laudato Si', I drew the attention of humanity and the Church to the most urgent questions relating to the care of our common home and the present and future of the peoples who inhabit it.  The problems of the destruction of the natural environment are increasingly grave and the consequences on the lives of people are dramatic.

To face these, we need to have a broader vision of the causes, the nature of the crisis and its various aspects.  No, a negationist attitude in the face of this world problem is not legitimate.  It is essential for there to be collaboration among scientists, sociologists, economists and politicians, as well as educators and formers of consciences.  Without a true conversion of our attitudes and our everyday behaviour, technical solutions will not save our home.

As Pope Benedict XVI said, a human ecology is needed, placing at the centre the full development of the person and appealing to his or her responsibility for the common good, for the respect and good administration of the creatures God has entrusted to us.

I hope with all my heart that this Symposium will provide a strong impetus for collaboration between Catholic Universities - in particular in Latin America and in the Caribbean - for the study of these problems, the development of the situation and possible solutions; and also to suggest concrete proposals, to inspire greater responsibility for the care of our common home, not only by individuals but also in political, social and ecclesial communities, and finally, in families.

There is a need for solidarity and for efforts by all.  The Encyclical Laudato Si' is an appeal to each and every one of us.  There is a need for collaboration by everyone, in order to receive the message of Laudato Si' and translate it into real life, for the good and the future of the human family.
(Translation by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

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