Laudato si

1. “LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs”.

2. This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will.

Thus begins the encyclical letter of Pope Francis, just released.
Here is a link to the text. And here is a link to the PDF (184 pages) for those who prefer to read offline.

Some of the Republican candidates who are Roman Catholics (not naming any names here) have previously commented that the Pope's "political opinions" on such matters as economic inequality and the environment can and should be ignored; they are no more than one person's opinions.

An encyclical letter is, for a Roman Catholic, something else altogether. From Wikipedia s.v. "Encyclical Letter", a quote from Pius XII:

It is not to be thought that what is set down in Encyclical letters does not demand assent in itself, because in this the popes do not exercise the supreme power of their magisterium. For these matters are taught by the ordinary magisterium, regarding which the following is pertinent: “He who heareth you, heareth Me.” (Luke 10:16); and usually what is set forth and inculcated in Encyclical Letters, already pertains to Catholic doctrine. But if the Supreme Pontiffs in their acts, after due consideration, express an opinion on a hitherto controversial matter, it is clear to all that this matter, according to the mind and will of the same Pontiffs, cannot any longer be considered a question of free discussion among theologians.

It is significant that this letter is titled not in Latin, as they have always been (using the first words of the document), but in the Italian of St. Francis. In fact, I cannot locate a link to a Latin text of the document on the Vatican website. I find this remarkable.

Read it. Share it with others. I certainly will.