Planet of the Amazon is the theme for the II Forum of the Laudato si' Communities which is taking place today in Amatrice. The Laudato si' Community, is a movement made up of persons and associations committed to the sharing of thoughts inspired by the Encyclical Laudato si'. Originally conceived by the Church of Rieti and by Slow Food, these communities adopt and promote lifestyles that are coherent with the values and proposals put forward in Pope Francis' document, at the personal and collective levels, through meetings and conferences, or by carrying out concrete actions and practical initiatives.
With their commitment, the Laudato si' Communities contribute to the environmental movement from the particular point of view of integral ecology, that is, always keeping in mind the close connection that exists between respect for our common home and social justice.
I extend a cordial greeting to the organizers and participants of the II Forum of the Laudato Si communities, which is celebrated in an area that was devastated by the earthquake that struck central Italy in August 2016 and which more than others paid a very high price in number of victims.
It is a sign of hope that we find ourselves in Amatrice, whose memory is always present in my heart, focusing on the imbalances that devastate our common home. Not only is it a sign of closeness to so many brothers and sisters who still live in the ford between the memory of a terrible tragedy and the reconstruction that is slow to take off, but also expresses the desire to make the message resound loud and clear that the poor pay a higher price for environmental devastation. The wounds inflicted on the environment are inexorably felt by the most defenceless members of humanity. In the Encyclical Laudato si' I wrote: There will not be a new relationship with nature without a new human being. There is no ecology without adequate anthropology (LS, 118).
After having dealt last year with the issue of plastic that is suffocating our planet, today you are reflecting on the grave and no longer sustainable situation of the Amazon and the peoples who inhabit it. You are thus inspired by the theme of the Synod of Bishops that will be celebrated next October for the Pan-Amazon region and of which the Instrumentum laboris was recently presented.
The situation in Amazonia is a sad paradigm of what is happening in many parts of the planet: a blind and destructive mentality that prefers profit to justice; one that highlights the predatory attitude with which man relates to nature. Please don't forget that social justice and ecology are deeply interconnected! What is happening in the Amazon will have repercussions on a planetary level, but it has already prostrated thousands of men and women who have been robbed of their territory, who have become foreigners in their own land, depleted of their own culture and traditions, breaking the age-old balance that united those peoples to their land. Man cannot remain an indifferent spectator in the face of this destruction, nor can the Church remain silent: the cry of the poor must resound in her mouth, as Saint Paul VI already pointed out in his Encyclical Populorum progressio.
Promoted by the Church of Rieti and Slow Food, the Laudato si' Communities are committed not only to the sound teaching proposed in the Encyclical of the same name, but also to foster new lifestyles. In this pragmatic perspective, I wish to give you three words.
The first word is doxology.
In the face of the good of creation and especially in the face of the good of man who is the summit of creation, but also its guardian, we must assume an attitude of praise. In the face of so much beauty, with renewed wonder, with childlike eyes, we must be able to appreciate the beauty we are surrounded by and into which man is also woven. Praise is the fruit of contemplation, contemplation and praise lead to respect, respect becomes almost veneration before the goods of creation and its Creator.
The second word is eucharist.
The eucharistic attitude before the world and its inhabitants knows how to grasp the gift status that every living being carries within itself. Everything is delivered to us for free, not to be plundered and swallowed up, but to become in turn a gift to be shared, a gift to be given so that joy can be for everyone and, therefore, be greater.
The third word is asceticism.
Every form of respect arises from an ascetic attitude, that is, from the capacity to know how to renounce something for a greater good, for the good of others. Asceticism helps us to convert the predatory attitude, which is always lurking, to take the form of sharing, the form of an ecological, respectful and polite relationship.
I hope that the Laudato si' Communities will be the germ of a renewed way of living in the world, in order to give it a future, to preserve its beauty and its integrity for the good of every living being, ad maiorem Dei gloriam (to the greater glory of God).
I thank you and I bless you with all my heart. Pray for me!
From the Vatican
6 July 2019
Francis
Testo originale in italiano
With their commitment, the Laudato si' Communities contribute to the environmental movement from the particular point of view of integral ecology, that is, always keeping in mind the close connection that exists between respect for our common home and social justice.
Message of His Holiness, Pope Francis
addressed to those participating in the
II Forum of the Laudato si' Communities
I extend a cordial greeting to the organizers and participants of the II Forum of the Laudato Si communities, which is celebrated in an area that was devastated by the earthquake that struck central Italy in August 2016 and which more than others paid a very high price in number of victims.
It is a sign of hope that we find ourselves in Amatrice, whose memory is always present in my heart, focusing on the imbalances that devastate our common home. Not only is it a sign of closeness to so many brothers and sisters who still live in the ford between the memory of a terrible tragedy and the reconstruction that is slow to take off, but also expresses the desire to make the message resound loud and clear that the poor pay a higher price for environmental devastation. The wounds inflicted on the environment are inexorably felt by the most defenceless members of humanity. In the Encyclical Laudato si' I wrote: There will not be a new relationship with nature without a new human being. There is no ecology without adequate anthropology (LS, 118).
After having dealt last year with the issue of plastic that is suffocating our planet, today you are reflecting on the grave and no longer sustainable situation of the Amazon and the peoples who inhabit it. You are thus inspired by the theme of the Synod of Bishops that will be celebrated next October for the Pan-Amazon region and of which the Instrumentum laboris was recently presented.
The situation in Amazonia is a sad paradigm of what is happening in many parts of the planet: a blind and destructive mentality that prefers profit to justice; one that highlights the predatory attitude with which man relates to nature. Please don't forget that social justice and ecology are deeply interconnected! What is happening in the Amazon will have repercussions on a planetary level, but it has already prostrated thousands of men and women who have been robbed of their territory, who have become foreigners in their own land, depleted of their own culture and traditions, breaking the age-old balance that united those peoples to their land. Man cannot remain an indifferent spectator in the face of this destruction, nor can the Church remain silent: the cry of the poor must resound in her mouth, as Saint Paul VI already pointed out in his Encyclical Populorum progressio.
Promoted by the Church of Rieti and Slow Food, the Laudato si' Communities are committed not only to the sound teaching proposed in the Encyclical of the same name, but also to foster new lifestyles. In this pragmatic perspective, I wish to give you three words.
The first word is doxology.
In the face of the good of creation and especially in the face of the good of man who is the summit of creation, but also its guardian, we must assume an attitude of praise. In the face of so much beauty, with renewed wonder, with childlike eyes, we must be able to appreciate the beauty we are surrounded by and into which man is also woven. Praise is the fruit of contemplation, contemplation and praise lead to respect, respect becomes almost veneration before the goods of creation and its Creator.
The second word is eucharist.
The eucharistic attitude before the world and its inhabitants knows how to grasp the gift status that every living being carries within itself. Everything is delivered to us for free, not to be plundered and swallowed up, but to become in turn a gift to be shared, a gift to be given so that joy can be for everyone and, therefore, be greater.
The third word is asceticism.
Every form of respect arises from an ascetic attitude, that is, from the capacity to know how to renounce something for a greater good, for the good of others. Asceticism helps us to convert the predatory attitude, which is always lurking, to take the form of sharing, the form of an ecological, respectful and polite relationship.
I hope that the Laudato si' Communities will be the germ of a renewed way of living in the world, in order to give it a future, to preserve its beauty and its integrity for the good of every living being, ad maiorem Dei gloriam (to the greater glory of God).
I thank you and I bless you with all my heart. Pray for me!
From the Vatican
6 July 2019
Francis
Testo originale in italiano
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