“Children are the wisest, let us listen to them” – Corriere.it

We publish the unpublished text of Pope Francis that forms the preface
for the book Praise Si ‘Reader, published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana (Lav)
Marking Cop26. In the book, environmental activists, ambassadors, church men and women tell how this book Laudato Si It has been received in different contexts around the world. The text will be available from November 12 in e-book and from November 20 in paper form

Six years ago, I posted the public message Laudato si“And On common home care, calling for a new joint dialogue about Our common home About how we passively fake The future of our planet With our irresponsible behaviour. I am pleased to see that the general message has had a positive impact on our efforts to nurture our common home in the Church, in our ecumenical and multi-religious communities, in political and economic circles, in educational and cultural fields, and beyond.

after posting Laudato SiI invite Catholics to join my beloved brother, His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and our Orthodox brothers, to celebrate together September 1 is the International Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. I am grateful for the urgent message Laudato Si It has echoed in important declarations and especially in the actions of other religious traditions about our call to be custodians of God’s creation. A Divine Message on the Climate Crisis, Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change, Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change for World Leaders, Bhumi Devi K Jay! Hindu declaration on climate change.

The Laudato Si A global call to be guardians of our common home, and it is very wonderful to see that Dicastery for the Promotion of Integrated Human Development has taken the initiative to bring together the ideas of people and communities from all over the world about the messages of Laudatus si’. The Praise Si ‘Reader, which is the title under which these ideas were collected, and is in fact a fitting conclusion to the special year Laudato Si Celebrated from May 24, 2020 to May 24, 2021.

The The cry of the earth and the cry of the poor made by Laudato Si As a symbolic consequence of our failure to take care of us common house It was recently amplified by the Covid-19 emergency, which humanity is still trying to cope with. And therefore, environmental crisis, represented by earth cry NS social crisis, represented by poor cry, fatal before health crisisThe Covid-19 epidemic. How true is the statement of my predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI: The ways in which a person deals with the environment affects the way in which he treats himself and vice versa (In fact, charity, n. 51).

However, let’s not forget that Crises are also windows of opportunityThey are occasions to recognize and learn from past mistakes. The current crisis must make us turn what is happening in the world into personal suffering, and thus realize the contribution that each of us can make (LS, n. 19). They are ours too Time to change gearsTo change bad habits in order to be able to dream, co-create and work together to achieve a just and equitable future. Now to develop a new form of global solidarity based on brotherhood, love and mutual understanding: a solidarity that values ​​people more than profit, and looks for new ways of understanding development and progress. Thus, my hope and prayer is that We are not getting out of this crisis as we were when we entered it!

The recent past has shown us that they are above all our children To understand the scale and enormity of the challenges facing society, especially the climate crisis. We must listen to them with open hearts. We have to follow their lead because They are wise despite their age.

Moment I hope for a lot, to rethink our priorities – what we value, what we want, what we strive for – and to reschedule our future, committing ourselves to working in everyday life what we dream of. Time to act and act together, currently!