Laudato Si - the reaction and analysis - UPDATED

Irish Conference of Bishops - Laudato Si coverage

Time - Exclusive: Patriarch Bartholomew on Pope Francis’ Climate Encyclical
USCCB - Environment/Environmental Justice Program

NCR - Laudato Si arrives - Michael Sean Williams
NCR's coverage of the encyclical which has various articles constantly being posted here.

Crux - If ‘Laudato Si’ is an earthquake, it had plenty of early tremors
Crux - Pope Francis: Heed ‘the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’
Millenial - 7 Surprising Ways that Pope Francis’ Encyclical is Calling You to Change
The Anchoress - Laudato Si: All of our Sin, All of our Hatred on Trial
NCR - Pope Francis' Letter to World: Learn to Give, And Not Simply to Give Up

America - Laudato si': A 'Map'
America - coverage of the encyclical
America - History is Made as Pope Francis’ Encyclical is Presented in the Vatican

Vatican Radio - Metropolitan John Zizioulas: Laudato Si' give Orthodox "great joy"
Ennis Blue
Wall Street Journal - Pope Delivers Strong Message on Climate Change in Encyclical ‘Laudato Si’’
The Guardian coverage - The Guardian view on Laudato Si’: Pope Francis calls for a cultural revolution
BBC - Pope Francis blames 'human selfishness' for global warming

UPDATE:
Irish Independent - The Pope was right to issue stark message on climate change
Salt + Light - Awe and Wonder: A Preliminary Comment on Laudato Si’
Phil has been tracking analysis and comments as well as her own reading of the new encyclical over at Ennis Blue

Laudato Si - On care for our common home

ENCYCLICAL LETTER

LAUDATO SI' 

OF THE HOLY FATHER

FRANCIS

ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME

“Laudato si’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs”.

This sister 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; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.

More than fifty years ago, with the world teetering on the brink of nuclear crisis, Pope Saint John XXIII wrote an Encyclical which not only rejected war but offered a proposal for peace. He addressed his message Pacem in Terris to the entire “Catholic world” and indeed “to all men and women of good will”. Now, faced as we are with global environmental deterioration, I wish to address every person living on this planet. In my Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, I wrote to all the members of the Church with the aim of encouraging ongoing missionary renewal. In this Encyclical, I would like to enter into dialogue with all people about our common home....

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You can read full version of the encyclical HTML and PDF.

The Vatican has produced a quick 12-page guide available here courtesy of Rocco over at Whispers.

The on-demand press conference from the Pope Paul VI Hall in the Vatican this morning is available here.

Time - Patriarch Bartholomew on Pope Francis’ Climate Encyclical

Pope Francis Environmental Encyclical - Laudato Si - UPDATED

One blog post bringing together the links and resources already posted in advance of the publication of Laudato Sii. It will be updated over the next couple of days.

17th June 2015

Laudato Eve... Almost.
Concern for the poor is not Communism, Pope says in homily


16th June 2015

• As we prepare for the "official" publication of the encyclical, quotations from various previous papal encyclicals.
• Independent Catholic News - Count down to the Encyclical
• Crux - The pope’s eco-encyclical is likely to stir a hornet’s nest
• Crux - Why Pope Francis will never be a radical ‘Green’
• The Guardian - Explosive intervention by Pope Francis set to transform climate change debate
• The Guardian - Pope Francis warns of destruction of Earth's ecosystem in leaked encyclical
• The Catholic Herald - The world must act to stop climate change, says Pope Francis in leaked draft of encyclical

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The ongoing drama of the leak of the draft by Sandro Magister:

• Holy See Press Office suspends credentials of journalist who leaked encyclical
• The Deacons Bench - Holy See pulls press credentials for prominent Vatican journalist over encyclical leak
• The Irish Times - Italian magazine leaks draft of Pope’s environment encyclical
• Crux - Why we wrote about the encyclical

15th June 2015

• Ignatian Solidarity has a list of resources, reflections and prayer resources ahead of 18th June and encourages people to use the #Hope4Pope
• Pope Francis’ Encyclical on Ecology: What to Expect and What Not
• Salt + Light - The Ecology Encyclical: Care for Our Common Home
• NCR - Climate encyclical expected to send strong moral message to the world
• Encyclical on environment intended for all, Pope says
• Catholic Herald - Catholic, Orthodox Christian and atheist to present Pope’s encyclical 

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• Draft of Pope Francis’ /Laudato Si/ Encyclical Leaked Today
• Version of encyclical leaks; Vatican calls for respect of embargo
• Draft of pope's environment encyclical leaked by magazine
• The Washington Post - Draft of the pope’s encyclical blames climate change on human activity

14th June 2015

Get ready for the newest summer blockbuster. No, it’s not Jurassic World — it’s even bigger, crazier, and more action packed: a religious document issued by the pope. The new encyclical is set to address climate change and humanity’s moral obligation to fight it. But unlike any encyclical ever issued before, this one has an epic (unofficial) movie trailer. (Continue reading HERE and the trailer is below!)

• BBC - Is Pope Francis a communist?
• Rocco Palmo - Whispers in the Loggia -  "Nature Never Forgives" – For Eco-cyclical, The Final Countdown - Rocco gives some back ground to the forth coming encyclical as well as showing how the linkages are being made between Pope Francis forth coming message and his predecessors.
• CNA - Caring for creation is a duty for all, Pope says ahead of encyclical launch
• Crux - John Allen - Environmental manifesto may confirm Pope Francis as ‘Benedict 2.0’
• An alternative view being proposed to Pope Francis ahead of the publication of his encyclical this week (Catholic Herald) - A mad, bad and dangerous doctrine - Neo-Malthusian thinking risks even more poverty and environmental damage

10th June 2015

• Crux - Vatican announces plans for release of pope’s eco-encyclical
• Crux - Climate encyclical expected to send strong moral message to the world
• National Catholic Reporter coverage of the environmental encyclical

UPDATE: 

• Crux's analysis and coverage of the encyclical.
• From the Jesuit Post: Laudato Sii — Pope Francis’s Ecology Encyclical Is Almost Here! which has a number of suggestions for digesting the encyclical when it is published:

1. Remember it’s not only about climate change.2. Climate change “propaganda” – According to whom?3. The Church is not walking into another “Galileo Affair”4. Regardless of our preferences, the encyclical has something to say to everyone.5. Collective action on the environment is inherently Catholic.6. Read it, absorb it, and talk about it!

9th June 2015

• John Allen over at Crux gives an excellent article on Getting ahead of the spin on the pope’s environmental encyclical
• Salt + Light discusses What is an encyclical? Is this Pope Francis’ first encyclical? Why is an encyclical on the environment necessary at this moment in history?
• Preview of encyclical? Pope sends encouragement to UN conference on climate change
• National Catholic Reporter responds to some of the over the top right wing political reaction in the USA to a document that is not yet published! - The Crazed Politics of Religion
• Patriarch Bartholomew urges the world to "Protect the Oceans" on World Ocean Day

2nd June 2015

As the publication date of Pope Francis encyclical on the environment approaches, it is interesting to note that the initial outlines of the new encyclical were given at an address by Cardinal Peter Turkson at the Pontifical University in Maynooth back in March 2015:

• Vatican Radio - Cardinal Turkson: together for stewardship of creation
• Irish Bishops Conference - Cardinal Peter Turkson delivers the Trócaire 2015 Lenten Lecture, Saint Patrick’s Pontifical University, Maynooth
• Crux - Cardinal previews Francis’ encyclical on the environment
• iCatholic - you can watch the video of the talk here

Analysis of the yet unpublished encyclical continues

• What makes environment encyclical unusual? The pope sees 2015 as an ideal time for the Church to weigh in on ecology, but critics are lining up.
• Pope’s environmental encyclical to be titled ‘Laudato Sii’ (Praised Be You)
• Greenbacks and the green economy: Ecology is good business

26th May 2015

Papal authority and Climate change - as we head into the summer and the approaching publication date of Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment and climate change there is a lot of disquiet and opposition growing in certain quarters of the church - before we even see a word of the encyclical! 

• Millennial writer Daniel DiLeo has a new article at US Catholic

Other articles which have caught our eye in relation to it:

• The Jesuit Post - Pope Francis’s Ecology Encyclical – What Can We Expect?
• Thinking Faith - Donal Dorr - ‘The fragile world’: Church teaching on ecology before and by Pope Francis
• Crux - Pro-life anxiety over Pope Francis’ looming ecological manifesto
• Catholic Herald - There’s no need to fear Pope Francis’s environment encyclical
• NCR - Conservative corners have tepid take on Pope Francis' environment encyclical
• The Guardian - How will the world react to Pope Francis's encyclical on climate change?
• NCR - The Rollout of the Encyclical on the Environment

Some web browsing...........UPDATED

“World’s faithful are asking us to establish common date for celebration of Easter”

2067: the end of British Christianity

Medjugorje Decision Will Take ‘Months,’ Says Vatican Spokesman

Meet the Fantastically Bejeweled Skeletons of Catholicism’s Forgotten Martyrs - In his new book, art historian and author Paul Koudounaris elucidates the macabre splendor and tragic history of Europe’s catacomb saints

There is a certain view out there that the Catholic channel at Patheos is a tad "right" wing. Max Lindemann pens "An Open Letter to A Liberal Reader" in response.

Pope Francis' message to priests: “Don’t scare off God’s people"

The Irish Times - Faith and the God of surprises
The Irish Time - Vincent Twomey: Sentiment trumped reason in marriage referendum

America - Irish Referendum on Same Sex Marriage is Challenge for Whole Church

NCR - Slide Into Secularism; What the Marriage Referendum Says About Ireland

NCR - Is This the Death of the Catholic Church in Ireland?

QUIZ: Can You Identify These Liturgical Objects?

Catholic Herald - The women whose voices the pro-choice lobby doesn’t want to hear

Atheists share with Christians the plight of being persecuted worldwide for their convictions. They must unite to demand the freedom to follow their beliefs – whatever they may be - Catholics must stick up for atheists

Rome Reports: Seven questions about the ecology encyclical you were afraid to ask - Updated

Crux - Vatican announces plans for release of pope’s eco-encyclical

Crux - Climate encyclical expected to send strong moral message to the world

National Catholic Reporter coverage of the environmental encyclical

UPDATE: 

Crux's analysis and coverage of the encyclical.

From the Jesuit Post: Laudato Sii — Pope Francis’s Ecology Encyclical Is Almost Here! which has a number of suggestions for digesting the encyclical when it is published:

1. Remember it’s not only about climate change.2. Climate change “propaganda” – According to whom?3. The Church is not walking into another “Galileo Affair”4. Regardless of our preferences, the encyclical has something to say to everyone.5. Collective action on the environment is inherently Catholic.6. Read it, absorb it, and talk about it!

Some web browsing......

Pope offers 'Stone Age’ tips to youth living in the digital world (Catholic Herald)

Recent research in the USA seemed to indicated a rush for the doors out of the Catholic Church, Elizabeth Scalia asks the question - Dear Catholic why do YOU remain a catholic? Some of the responses can be seen here, here and here.

Raking a grave

Reflecting on Corpus Christi, perhaps it is a time for a theology of encounter (NCR).

Jericho Tree - Why we all need to think deeply about chastity

Former rock journalist promotes joy of chastity

Summer reading with Pope Francis

Has Pope Francis issued a warning against the seers of Medjugorje? -  Don’t live your lives according to what seers tell you

The Tablet marks 175th anniversary with Dublin Mass

Helen Mirren's advice to live like a nun

How Can You Have an Ignatian Summer?

Same-sex marriage: “The outcome of the referendum is the result of a cultural revolution” - Archbishop Diarmuid Martin

Summer is often a time for people to have a clear out of our homes; Kathleen Basi reflects on hoarding and purging and also on Things you might find going through old boxes of letters.

Two Sundays ago was the Trinity Sunday when we try to get our heads around the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Ben Myers is a lecturer and posted some basic rules for remembering the theology about the Trinity - Doctrine of the Trinity: 21 grammatical rules.

PrayTell reflects on a Sanctuary that is bi.

The Russian Orthodox Church is outraged by the appearance of icons of Stalin

South Sudan faces falling into the abyss and the western world which encouraged it on its path to independence in 2011 looks on in apathy - Help for the world’s ‘broken places and South Sudan swirls toward chaos

Every generation has an opportunity to change the world. Right now, college campuses around the country are home to a moral movement that seeks to reverse centuries of historic wrongs. This movement is led by students forced to live with the legacy of sexism, with the threat, and sometimes the experience, of sexual assault. It is led by students whose lives have been marred by racism and bigotry. It is led by people who want to secure equal rights for gays, lesbians and other historically marginalized groups.These students are driven by noble impulses to do justice and identify oppression.....But when you witness how this movement is actually being felt on campus, you can’t help noticing that it sometimes slides into a form of zealotry - continue reading The Campus Crusaders

Another view on it - I'm a liberal professor, and my liberal students terrify me

The number of surgical abortions in the United States has declined 12% since 2010, according to the Associated Press, which cited statistics from the 45 states that keep data on abortions. The president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America attributed the decline to “better access to birth control and sex education,” while Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life said that “there’s an entire generation of women who saw a sonogram as their first baby picture. There’s an increased awareness of the humanity of the baby.” - read here

Some web browsing..............

Some good news from Maynooth (for a change) - Nine deacons to be ordained in Maynooth today
 
Bishop Brendan Leahy reflects on the marriage referendum result.
 
Catholic Herald - Baroness Flather says the Catholic Church has done nothing for women. Here’s why she is wrong

As the publication date of Pope Francis encyclical on the environment approaches, it is interesting to note that the initial outlines of the new encyclical were given at an address by Cardinal Peter Turkson at the Pontifical University in Maynooth back in March 2015:

• Vatican Radio - Cardinal Turkson: together for stewardship of creation
• Irish Bishops Conference - Cardinal Peter Turkson delivers the Trócaire 2015 Lenten Lecture, Saint Patrick’s Pontifical University, Maynooth
• Crux - Cardinal previews Francis’ encyclical on the environment
• iCatholic - you can watch the video of the talk here

Analysis of the yet unpublished encyclical continues

• What makes environment encyclical unusual? The pope sees 2015 as an ideal time for the Church to weigh in on ecology, but critics are lining up.
• Pope’s environmental encyclical to be titled ‘Laudato Sii’ (Praised Be You)
• Greenbacks and the green economy: Ecology is good business

 
The second sitting of the Synod on the Family gathers in Rome in October 2015 and the commentary online grows, especially following what has been termed "the shadow synod" of German, Austrian and Swiss bishops which met in Rome during the week:

• Pope Francis, Between the Shadow Synod and a New Direction
• The two-step of the Argentine pope - Perfectly in keeping with tradition when he talks about abortion, divorce, homosexuality. But also open to changes in doctrine and practice. An anthology that intensifies the mystery. Pope Francis on abortion, divorce, euthanasia, contraception and homosexuality since last October's synod.
• Will Pope Francis Break the Church? The new pope's choices stir high hopes among liberal Catholics and intense uncertainty among conservatives. Deep divisions may lie ahead.

Pius XII - hated or revered by the Third Reich? An interview with historian Pier Luigi Guiducci about his new book on the war-time pope.  

A generation is now growing old, which never had anything to say for itself except that it was young - The first progressive generation. 

The Tablet (UK) (of all publications!) tries to find something positive in the visit of Cardinal Burke to the UK - A certain beauty about watching Cardinal Burke in action 

Selfish, ‘armchair’ Christians distance people from Christ, pope says
 
A commonplace book - reflection on journaling in this fast paced digital world

Blessed Romero 'another brilliant star' belonging to church of Americas

 
Pope urges engaged couples to take time, be open to God's surprises 

Catholic history and tradition is full on many strange things which are often held up to ridicule the understanding of the church and its role in people's lives. One area which often draws fascination is the area of death and in particular the Incorruptibles - the saints whose bodies have not decayed! A couple of articles which look at the issue from a historical, religious and high level scientific point of view:

• Gee, your corpses smells terrific
• The Skeptic's Dictionary - Incorruptible bodies
• The Incorruptibles of the Catholic Church
• The Incorruptibles  - The bodies of many medieval Catholic saints and martyrs have resisted decay for centuries— just the sort of mystery that begs for scientific inquiry
• The incorruptible bodies of the Saints 
• From The Incorruptibles; A Study of the Incorruption of the Bodies of Various Catholic Saints and Beati by Joan Carroll Cruz
• The Incorrupt bodies of the saints (photos)

Reflecting on our death and our mortality is a long tradition in the Christian faith with many saints depicted holding memento mori to that famous soliloquy in Hamlet:

• ‘A girl always remembers the first corpse she shaves’ - Caitlin Doughty has written a surprisingly uplifting book about working in a San Francisco mortuary. Her message? The West needs to stop hiding from death
• A healthy approach to life and death 
• The Order of the Good Death encourages people to be realistic and embrace the finality of death

Some web browsing..............

In his homily for Pentecost Sunday Pope Francis said: ''The world needs men and women who are not closed in on themselves, but filled with the Holy Spirit... The world needs the courage, hope, faith and perseverance of Christ’s followers. The world needs the fruits of the Holy Spirit: 'love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control' (Gal 5:22)." May the gifts of the Holy Spirit bear fruit in your life today and always.

Here is one suggestion of 50 things every man should be able to do.

The challenges of presenting the christian understanding of marriage presented in "What is marriage to evangelical millennials?

Modern public debate can be crude, vulgar and often comes across as being a dialogue of the deaf shouting past each other. So Carl Truman writes in praise of the dying art of civil disagreement.

In light of the Irish referendum result, the faithful must charitably but firmly engage in robust public debates on marriage, family and society - Sheila Liaugminas

The Irish Church’s failures have caused its people to choose secularism over faith - Mary O'Regan

Muslim daughters influence father's journey to priesthood

Cardinal Donald Wuerl discusses Being Catholic Today: Catholic Identity in an Age of Challenge 

Papal authority and Climate change - as we head into the summer and the approaching publication date of Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment and climate change there is a lot of disquiet and opposition growing in certain quarters of the church - before we even see a word of the encyclical! 

Millennial writer Daniel DiLeo has a new article at US Catholic
Other articles which have caught our eye in relation to it:

The Jesuit Post - Pope Francis’s Ecology Encyclical – What Can We Expect?
Thinking Faith - Donal Dorr - ‘The fragile world’: Church teaching on ecology before and by Pope Francis
Crux - Pro-life anxiety over Pope Francis’ looming ecological manifesto
Catholic Herald - There’s no need to fear Pope Francis’s environment encyclical
NCR - Conservative corners have tepid take on Pope Francis' environment encyclical
The Guardian - How will the world react to Pope Francis's encyclical on climate change?
NCR - The Rollout of the Encyclical on the Environment

Beautiful, just beautiful: a wedding picture worth a thousand words - Photo of Marine Praying With Bride-to-Be Goes Viral.

As members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim community flee the Southeast Asian nation by boat, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo exhorted the nation’s Buddhist majority to have compassion.

Give God full access - Mags Blackie recently became aware of a pattern of behavior through prayer and she found it liberating. In the tradition of “Pray as you can, and not as you can’t,” she encourages: What we need to do is to give God full access. To open ourselves to the grace of God. Any prayer method can get us there, it is the intention that is important. What we discover may not always be pretty, but it will lead to freedom.

The New Yorker - Journey to Jihadi