10th Anniversary of Laudato Si & the Commitment to the Poor and Planet Around the Globe

Posted On August 2, 2025

Pope Francis’s second encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, published in 2015, is a significant document that addresses the urgent need for environmental action and care for creation.

The central theme of the encyclical is the concept of integral ecology, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of environmental and social issues. Pope Francis argues that the ecological crisis is not separate from the social and human crises facing the world. Instead, they are deeply intertwined, with environmental degradation often having a disproportionate impact on the poor and vulnerable.

Key elements

Critique of Consumerism and the Technocratic Paradigm: The encyclical critiques excessive consumerism and a technocratic paradigm that prioritizes economic and technological growth above all else, leading to a relentless exploitation and destruction of the environment.
The Gospel of Creation: Laudato Si’ draws on the Gospel message to emphasize the importance of viewing creation as a gift from God and recognizing the intrinsic value of every creature.
The Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis: The encyclical highlights the human causes of the ecological crisis, such as the view of humanity as having absolute dominion over the Earth, and the rejection of a moral framework for human freedom.
A Call for Ecological Conversion: Pope Francis calls for a personal and communal “ecological conversion” – a change of heart and lifestyle that leads to responsible stewardship of creation and a renewed relationship with God, others, and the Earth.
Emphasis on the Poor and Future Generations: The document emphasizes the need for intergenerational justice and highlights the particular vulnerability of the poor to the effects of environmental degradation.
Dialogue and Action: Laudato Si’ encourages open dialogue between science, religion, politics, and economics to find solutions to the environmental crisis and advocates for both individual lifestyle changes and systemic policy shifts.
Rejection of Population Control: The encyclical oppose population control, affirming that concern for nature is incompatible with the justification of abortion and emphasizing the importance of valuing each human being.

Significance

Laudato Si’ is considered a landmark document, not only within the Catholic Church but also in the broader environmental discourse. It has spurred discussions on the moral and ethical dimensions of climate change, encouraged Catholic communities to engage in environmental activism, and influenced international climate negotiations. However, its emphasis on integral ecology and its critiques of unchecked economic and technological growth have also sparked diverse reactions and criticisms within and outside the Catholic Church.

Raising Hope Conference for the Tenth Anniversary of Laudato Si

The “Raising Hope” conference, taking place from October 1 to 3, 2025, is a global, faith-led initiative commemorating the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si‘. This event, focused on integral ecology and climate action, brings together the global Catholic community and partners worldwide.

Pope Leo XIV is expected to lead this event and make a significant statement on climate change and environmental protection. He will inaugurate the conference with a celebration of hope for our common home.

The conference will include discussions with leaders from civil society, science, and policy about the impact of Laudato Si’ and addressing the climate crisis. A speaker list is available on the conference website. Some portions of the conference, including the opening event with Pope Leo XIV, will be livestreamed, and you can register for the livestream on the conference website.

Registration & Speaker Information

Resources

Check the monthly prayer guide for August 2025

The Season of Creation celebration guide for 2025

More Resources to learn, pray, and act

This Year’s Theme: Peace with Creation

Our Biblical text for this year is Isaiah 32:14-18. The prophet Isaiah pictured the desolated Creation without peace because of the lack of justice and the broken relationship between God and humankind. This description of devastated cities and wastelands eloquently stresses the fact that human destructive behaviours have a negative impact on the Earth.

Our hope: Creation will find peace when justice is restored.
There is still hope and the expectation for a peaceful Earth.

To hope in a biblical context does not mean to stand still and quiet, but to act, pray, change, and reconcile with Creation and the Creator in unity, metanoia (repentance), and solidarity.

Journey Toward COP33: Catholics United for our Common Home

COP30 is the 30th annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations climate change framework. It will take place in November 2025 in Belém, Brazil, right in the heart of the Amazon.

COP30 is a key moment for Catholics around the world to unite in the protection of our common home, encouraging governments to adopt more substantial, more just commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement.

In anticipation of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) scheduled for November 10-21, 2025, in Belém, Brazil, Catholic Conferences from the Global South have released a joint statement calling for urgent and ambitious climate action based on principles of climate justice and ecological conversion. This historic statement, coming from bishops representing Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, emphasizes the moral obligation to protect Creation and address the climate crisis, which disproportionately affects the poor and vulnerable.

Key demands and proposals from the joint statement

Move from Promises to Practice: The bishops stress the need to translate the goals of the Paris Agreement into concrete actions.
Phase Out Fossil Fuels: They advocate for a rapid and equitable transition away from fossil fuels, halting new infrastructure and investing in renewable energy sources. They also suggest taxing those who have profited from the fossil fuel industry.
Operationalize Loss and Damage Fund: The statement calls for rich nations to fulfill their financial commitments to the Loss and Damage Fund, acknowledging their “ecological debt” to the Global South and ensuring that climate finance is provided in a way that doesn’t further indebt vulnerable nations.
Protect Vulnerable Communities: The bishops advocate for protecting Indigenous peoples, ecosystems, and impoverished communities, emphasizing gender-just solutions and decentralized renewable energy policies that benefit women.
Reject False Solutions: The statement condemns “green capitalism,” carbon offset schemes, and the commodification of nature that prioritize profit over the common good.
Tax the Profiteers: The bishops propose taxing those who have heavily profited from the fossil fuel industry.
Promote Ecological Conversion: The statement emphasizes the importance of a fundamental shift in how humanity relates to nature, promoting solidarity, justice, and care for creation.
Create a Historic Coalition: The bishops encourage a broad coalition of actors, including faith communities, policymakers, and civil society, to collaborate for climate justice.

Broader context of Catholic engagement with climate action

This joint statement builds on the foundation laid by Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home (2015), which has significantly shaped Catholic engagement with environmental issues.
The Catholic Church, a large global institution with members in nearly every nation, is actively involved in advocating for environmental protection and climate justice, leveraging its moral authority and diplomatic influence in international forums like COP.
Organizations like the Laudato Si’ Movement (formerly the Global Catholic Climate Movement) and the Catholic Climate Covenant are mobilizing Catholics at the grassroots level, encouraging lifestyle changes, advocating for policy changes, and fostering “ecological conversion”.
Catholic social teaching emphasizes the inherent dignity of the human person, a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable, solidarity, and care for God’s creation, all of which underscore the urgency of addressing climate change and its disproportionate impact on marginalized communities.

This joint statement from Catholic Conferences of the Global South signifies a powerful and unified voice from those most vulnerable to the climate crisis. It underscores the urgency of addressing climate change, rooted in both scientific consensus and the moral imperative of faith, ahead of the crucial COP30 negotiations.