5/15/2020: Here is an expanded reading list, offered in conjunction with the video presentation by Fr. John Pawlikowski, O.S.M., who offers a personal perspective on the message of Laudato Si' and how our Catholic understanding of the care of creation has grown and changed over the centuries. Video here

EARTH DAY 2020

The theme for Earth Day 2020, April 22, is climate action. The enormous challenge — but also the vast opportunities — of action on climate change have distinguished the issue as the most pressing topic for the 50th anniversary.

LAUDATO SI'

This Encyclical by Pope Francis, released in May 2015, is a perfect partner with Earth Day.  A moral and spiritual challenge -- The ecological crisis, Pope Francis writes, is a summons to profound interior conversion, to renew our relationships with God, one another, and the created world.

Laudato Si' - The text of Pope Francis' Encyclical 

7 Reflections on the coronavirus emergency from an ecological perspective. 

A leader in the Vatican’s working group on ecology comments on the state of our struggle with the pandemic and recommends steps we can take as Catholics to achieve the goals of Laudato Si. Observing the impact of the pandemic and ecological damage on the poor and vulnerable, he asks: “Can we become their voice, consistent with the preferential option for the poor and the least, a choice that lies at the heart of our faith and social teachings?” The author, the Rev. Dr. Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam, is Coordinator of the Sector of Ecology and Creation at the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and also Chair of Philosophy of Science and Director of the Institute of Social and Political Sciences at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome. His most recent book is The Ten Green Commandments of Laudato Si’ (Liturgical Press, 2019)

Opportunities and responsibilities we may find in the concurrent challenges of Cimate issues and the virus pandemic.

Coronavirus Holds Key Lessons on How to Fight Climate Change- Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies - MARCH 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic is past, the most lasting lesson may be what the coronavirus teaches us about the urgency of taking swift action.

Sorry, but the Virus Shows Why There Won’t Be Global Action on Climate Change - Foreign Policy, March 2020. Extreme measures to fight the coronavirus have raised activists’ hopes for similarly drastic action on global warming. Here’s why they’re wrong.

How the Pandemic Will End_The Atlantic_March 2020 
Lengthy article that employs critical thinking and imagination to explore the unknown outcomes of the pandemic.

Responding To The Pandemic_The Vatican_March 2020
International body of scientists offers 20 recommendations for fighting the pandemic in the best interests of global society.

The Coronavirus and Climate Action_Scientific American_April 2020
Brief opinion piece on what we can learn from confronting the pandemic about confronting climate change.

Pope Francis shares his vision . . . America_April 2020
Pope Francis reflects on the coronavirus pandemic in the light of the resurrection of Jesus.

Scientists Cite Pollution Decrease . . . Newsweek_April 2020
Brief overview of environmental implications of fighting the pandemic, highlighting in part Pope Francis and Laudato Si.