Laudato S

ILLUSTRATED

SPECIAL
EDITION

Overview
P

ope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si is a

worldwide wake up call to help
humanity understand the destruction that
man is rendering to the environment and
his fellow manespecially to the poor and
the marginalized. While talking about the
environment principally, the document's
scope is broader in many ways. It looks
not only at man's effect on the
environment, but also the many
philosophical, theological, and cultural
causes that threaten the relationships of
man to nature, and man to each other, in
various situations.
Laudato Si means Praise be to you
which is the first line of a canticle by St.
Francis that praises God with all of his

creation.

prayerful Christians...tend to ridicule

expressions of concern for the
From the start, Pope Francis states the environment. Others are passive; they
goal of the document: In this Encyclical, I
choose not to change their habits and
would like to enter into dialog with all
thus become inconsistent. So what they
people about our common home (#3).
all need is an 'ecological conversion',
whereby the effects of their encounter
The goal of the dialog: I urgently
with Jesus Christ become evident in their
appeal, then, for a new dialog about how
relationship with the world around them.
we are shaping the future of our planet. We Living our vocation to be protectors of
need a conversation that includes
God's handiwork is essential to a life of
everyone, since the environment challenge virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary
we are undergoing, and its human roots,
aspect of our Christian experience
concern and affect us all (#14).
(#217).
This is at the heart of the document, but
No matter who you are or where you
Pope Francis also has a very urgent call to find yourself in relation to protecting the
conversion for those in the Church as well. environment, Pope Francis has this
message for you: I invite all to embrace
The ecological crisis is also a
with open hearts this Encyclical which is
summons to profound interior conversion. It in line with the Church's social doctrine
must be said that some committed and
(General Audience, June 17, 2015).

INTRODUCTION TO LAUDATO S

ave you heard Joey Ayala's

song Magkaugnay?*

*To listen to the song, visit

http://tinyurl.com/jo3rtb4.

The song says that all things are interconnected.

Man is linked to the smallest things (like ants,
snails, birds, bees), to the biggest things (trees,
lakes, mountains, even the stars and the planets).
Thus, if we hurt one of these, we hurt our own
selves. If any of these get sick, we also get sick.

Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si is

about the pagkakaugnay (interconnectedness) of all of God's creation.

Even a small act like throwing a

sandwich wrapper carelessly
away may have negative results.

That small wrapper may find its way

to the sewage system. Together with
other non-degradable stuff, it may
result in the sewage being clogged.

When the rains come, a clogged

sewage will not let water through.
That's what causes floods.
Floods cause inconvenience.
Floods cause damage to
property...even lives.

All because of a sandwich wrapper

carelessly thrown away...and
other small acts of negligence.

Another example: There are cases when

trees were cut down to make way for big
construction a mall, or a condominium.

Covering the soil with

cement makes it worse.

Trees absorb
carbon dioxide
(which is
harmful to
humans) from
the air.

CO2

O2

They purify the air. Trees

also help control floods.
Cutting down trees without replacing
them is like shooting ourselves in the foot.

Laudato Si reminds us to take care

of our common home the Earth.

like a sister with whom we share our life

and a beautiful mother who opens her
arms to embrace us.

hat kind of world do we want to

leave to those who come after us, The encyclical centers around the
to children who are now growing up?
concept of integral ecology to describe
(#160)
the relationships of the person: with
God, with one's self, with other human
Pope Francis asks this in his encyclical beings, with creation. In six chapters,
addressed to every person living on
Pope Francis teaches that science is
this planet and invites us to enter into
the best tool by which we can listen to
a dialog about our common home.
the cry of the earth. Our faith and
Church teaching call us to right
The letter takes its name from the
relationships and dialog, particularly
opening of the Canticle of the
between politics and economy, and
Creatures by St. Francis of Assisi,
between religion and science, as they
Laudato Si' or Praise be, to remind us
pertain to the care of our common
that the earth, our common home is
home.

Using this Guide

his guide is for those who are

interested in studying the words of
Pope Francis and taking action. It may
be used individually or in a group, one
chapter at a time or as a whole.
Each chapter of Laudato Si' is
addressed in two ways: study and

action. We offer a summary and

questions for reflection, as well as ways
you and your school, family or
community can take action in order to
care for our common home. All it takes
is one good person to restore hope!
(#71)
You may need a Bible and a copy
of the encyclical, which you may read
online or download as a PDF life, by
visiting laudatosi.com.

STUDY GUIDE: Introduction

Introduction

ur home is where we live or

stay to nourish our well-being.

Chapter One:

WHAT IS HAPPENING
TO OUR COMMON
HOME?

If our home ceases to nourish

our life, we would have a problem.

Pope Francis calls the Earth our common home. It

was created by God not just for one person, or a few
persons, but for all of humanity and other species.

Water is getting
scarce...

There is waste
brought about by a
throwaway culture...

In our common home,

there is pollution...

There is decline in the quality of human

life, and a breakdown of society...

There is loss of
biodiversity...
Mamo
Dodo

GONE

Passenger
pigeon

Tasmanian
wolf
More than
anybody else, the
poor suffer much
from these.

Unlike the rich, the poor

don't have the means to
escape the effects of
these problems.

Climate change is considered the most critical problem

among those mentioned in Laudato Si. Its worst
impact will be felt by developing countries like ours.

Climate change is
controversial because not
all believe that the global
warming we experience is
caused by man. Some
scientists argue that it is
part of the natural cycle.

But climate scientists belonging to a group

called Berkeley Earth have proof that
global warming is in fact caused by humans.

Perhaps the confusion results from the

interchangeable use of the terms climate change,
global warming and greenhouse effect.

Global
warming then
is the result of
the greenhouse effect.

Greenhouse effect is
caused by carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide
and other gases. If the
blanketing effect by these
gases is excessive, too
much could be trapped.

The most serious projected result of

climate change is the melting of ice caps.

Which, in turn, will

lead to the rise of
sea water level.

It means our planet's average

surface temperature increases.

Many island
countries like
Kiribati and
Maldives will be
submerged.

Flooding will
become more
severe.

Typhoons and
hurricanes will
intensify in strength
and frequency.

Laudato Si talks about other environmental concerns. Pollution of water,

air and land is becoming worse.

The encyclical focuses on the subject

of water. Access to safe drinkable
water is essential to human survival.

Pollutants and toxic materials

are serious problems, too.
Genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) threaten biological
diversity by altering genetics.

When these contaminate our

food chain, humans, plants and
animals intake their poison.

Developed (rich) countries owe developing (poor) countries much ecological

debt because they have been causing
harm to the environment since the
Industrial Revolution.

Pope Francis says so far there are weak

reactions to confront the crisis. We ignore the
crisis and pretend that nothing will happen.
We have disappointed God's expectations to
take care of our common home.

his sister [the earth] 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. The violence
present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also
reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in
the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms
of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened
and laid waste, is among the most
abandoned and maltreated of our
poor.

Laudato S #2

STUDY GUIDE: Chapter One

he environment belongs to all of us.

All of humanity share a common
home. Studies indicate that most
global warming in recent decades is
due to the great concentration of
greenhouse gases released mainly
as a result of human activity. (#23)

Pope Francis writes that climate

change is one of the principal
challenges facing humanity in our day.
Five times Pope Francis names a
throwaway culture as a root cause of
the ecological crisis. We face pollution
and waste, scarcity of water, loss of
biodiversity, decline in the quality of life
and breakdown of society, extreme
consumerism and global inequality, and
weak international responses.
A true ecological debt (#51) exists,
particularly between the rich and poor
nations, connected to the
disproportionate use of natural
resources. Great attention must be
given to the needs of the poor, the
weak and the vulnerable (#52).

our common home is falling into serious

disrepair. Hope would have us
recognize that there is always a way
out, that we can always redirect our
steps, that we can always do
something to solve our problems.
(#61)

Lets talk about it

What images come to mind when I
read throwaway culture? How have I
participated in or reacted to a
throwaway culture? How can I
contribute to a sustainable future for the
earth in my personal life, in my
community, and as a global citizen?

Time for action

l Evaluate your water footprint, that
is, your water consumption. Visit
www.watercalculator.org.
l Evaluate your carbon footprint.
Visit http://www.carbonfootprint.
com/calculator.aspx.

Like his predecessor, Saint John

l Join local incentives for reasonable
Paul II, Francis calls us to a global
use of water and other natural
ecological conversion: We need only resources in your community.
take a frank look at the facts to see that

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