Laudato Si

This has been quite a turbulent week for political and religious commentators, in the lead-up to publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si. The great wind blowing from both sides of the ideological spectrum has been typically partisan, and therefore unreliable. I have steadfastly refused to read any commentary from either side before a) reading the document myself, and b) ascertaining that the author has actually read the document.

That said, as I scanned through my newsfeed yesterday, I noted a few responses from people who either were in the process of, or had (miraculously) finished, reading the encyclical.

“I just finished reading Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment, released today. Both philosophically and theologically it keenly illuminates why in our present age we do not relate rightly to the environment. This is a great gift to the Church, and to all persons of good will.” ~ Bryan Cross

“Reading Laudato Si’ as if it were a climate-change encyclical, period, is somewhat akin to reading Moby Dick as if it were a treatise on the 19th-century New England whaling industry. The ships and the harpoons are an important part of the story, to be sure; but if they become the whole story, you miss what Melville’s sprawling novel is really about. Ditto with Laudato Si’: If you read it as ‘the global-warming encyclical,’ you will miss the heart and soul of what this sprawling encyclical is about — which is us.” ~ George Weigel, The Pope’s Encyclical, at Heart, Is About Us, Not Trees and Snail Darters

I’m delighted to be following my pastor Fr. John Lankeit on Facebook, where he is posting a section-by-section response; and one more link, 11 Things You Probably Wont Hear About Pope Francis’ Encyclical offers a few interesting, if “cherry-picked” quotes.

And that’s all I have for now. I’ve read the first 16 paragraphs, but couldn’t delve into it much more yesterday as it was too noisy in my house, and this isn’t the sort of reading you just skim. I’ll get to it, if not this week, then over the 4th of July at the ranch where it’s nice and quiet.

If you want to read it yourself, which of course I recommend, you can read the encyclical on the Vatican website:

ENCYCLICAL LETTER
LAUDATO SI’
OF THE HOLY FATHER
FRANCIS
ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME

or you can download it for easier reading on your computer or Kindle: