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Encyclicals began as sort of the e-mail of the early Church. They get their name from the Greek word for circle, or circular. Important letters from the Pope would be forwarded to Bishops and local churches, who would then copy and forward them to other Bishops and local churches, until the entire Church received the message.
This could take a good deal of effort. So you can imagine they must have contained vital information and were not issued all that regularly.
Today’s encyclicals are immediately posted on the Vatican website in many languages for the world to read. But their principal audience is still the bishops and pastors of the world, and all who teach and defend the Catholic faith. Encyclicals help everyone better understand how to apply the teachings of Sacred Scripture and Catholic Tradition—especially in light of a particular issue.
The Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si ('Praise be to you') - On the Care for Our Common Home, is the Church’s most profound and comprehensive statement yet on caring for creation and the poorest. It is an inspirational letter that calls for us to examine our hearts, transform our social values and take action for global solidarity.
The encyclical captures the interconnectedness of social, economic and environmental justice in building and protecting Our Common Home. It highlights the ‘intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet’. Protecting the planet requires an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.
Pope Francis is clear that human activity is at the root of climate change and our ‘ecological crisis’ - and that therefore, the solution also lies with us.
Pope Francis calls for nothing less than a revolution of our hearts and minds, for a transformation of our societies and individual lifestyles, to live in harmony with God’s creation. He challenges ‘the modern myth of unlimited material progress’. He asks us to redefine our notion of progress and rethink our current public values which put financial and economic growth before ecology and the needs of the most vulnerable communities and people.
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