Pope Francis has announced that he will issue a follow-up document to his 2015 encyclical letter, ‘Laudato Si’ entitled ‘Laudato Deum’.
The Holy Father has reiterated the necessity to stand with those who are ‘victims of climate injustice’. In his message for the Season of Creation, he has urged for a transformation of hearts, lifestyles and public policies.
In a recent video, Bishop John Arnold, the lead Bishop for the environment across England and Wales said
“The unfortunate thing is that eight years on, several COP meetings later, we really have not been achieving the targets that those COP meetings have agreed, and the damage is not being reduced. In fact, in some ways, it’s increasing. Some of the predictions of the environmentalists about what will be happening to the climate are proving to have been, in a way, simplified, and they’re actually accelerating faster now than those environmentalists were thinking. So I think the new statement by Pope Francis will be strong and will give an urgent warning. But, as always, he will finish with that sentiment of hope and that sense that in the urgency, we’ve all got our part to play.”
It is widely expected that Pope Francis will reference the war in Ukraine and the extreme weather catastrophise which have occurred across the globe throughout the last few months.
The Pontiff will present the document on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, 4th October, which closes the Season of Creation.