Franciscan: Pope's encyclical draws on his Latin American background

(Vatican Radio) Comments, reaction and appreciation for Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si. On the Care of Our Common Home’” have been pouring in from people and institutions across the religious, personal, humanitarian and political spectrum.  

The Pope’s call for immediate, inclusive dialogue and action to address the related challenges of poverty and global climate change that impact each and every one of us has a particularly urgent undertone in view of the destiny of generations to come.

The encyclical’s title, “Laudato Si’” or “Praised Be,” is drawn from a prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor.

Speaking to Linda Bordoni, the director of the Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation of the Friars Minor, Joseph Rozansky OFM, says “it is interesting to see the structure of the Encyclical and the way the Pope has taken up many themes that come from his Latin American background…”

Listen to the interview:

Fr Rozansky points out that Pope Francis in the Encyclical talks of “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” which is is actually the title of a book by Brazilian theologian and former Franciscan friar, Leonardo Boff.

Rozansky says it is a book dating back a number of years, and Pope Francis picks up on it right at the beginning as he introduces the concept of  “integral ecology”.

He points out that both Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI spoke about ecology, focussing especially on “human ecology”, but – Rozansky says – “what Pope Francis has done is not side-step the issue, but he has kind of conflated the questions, and when he talks about integral ecology he is surely talking about environmental justice”.

And stressing the fact that we should love nature, Father Rosanzky says that when you look at the encyclical it is clear that the Pope has a real concern of putting forward the life view of Saint Francis “because Francis loved the world”.

He says that he is convinced that one of the reasons Pope Francis is so interested in Saint Francis is because of this idea of bringing together the environmental and the social questions.

Rozansky also points out that in the encyclical the Pope quotes so many people and so many episcopal conferences because he is trying to show how “this is something that affects us all and that we should all be part of the solution”.

“And not only in the Church, but outside of the Church as well” he says.

The pursuit of justice, peace and preserving the integrity of creation has been a longstanding priority for the Franciscan Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation. Some of its ongoing initiatives include care for creation, care for the poor, climate change, peacemaking and immigration reform. For more information click here.