Wazzup Pilipinas!
The world is celebrating the one-year anniversary of Pope Francis’ groundbreaking encyclical on ecology, Laudato Si. Below are comments from David Nussbaum, Chairperson of WWF’s Global Climate and Energy Initiative, reflecting on this important encyclical:
“In its first year, Pope Francis’ Encyclical Laudato Si has played a huge role in connecting religions, countries, and people around the need for understanding and addressing together environmental and social problems.
The sub-title of the encyclical itself, calling for the "Care of Our Common Home", is a perfect summary of the powerful message for all of humanity. Broken into its component parts, we see the depth of meaning and thought applied to each word selected by Pope Francis: “Care” as the need for empathetic relationships and mutual assistance among people, with other living beings and with nature; "our" and "common" as an invitation to consider the common good and a sense of community; the "home", to emphasize that the Earth is the place that welcomes us, which is linked to our very existence.
Pope Francis’ letter arrived in a crucial year, encouraging individuals and countries to meet on the importance of sustainable development and to address climate challenge. Having helped build this common ground, at a time in which emergencies and competition create strains between countries and within countries, the encyclical has had a great impact in inspiring nations to come together to achieve two important global agreements.