A few hours to go...
In just a few hours, the Holy See will release Pope Francis' new encyclical on the environment, "Laudato Si." While encyclicals aren't infallible statements, th ... ey do represent one of the highest levels of teaching authority within the Church. As part of the Church's social teaching, we don't have the luxury of simply dismissing the document as one man's opinion. That Pope Francis has dedicated one to the care of creation represents his own resistance to consumerism, exploitation of the environment and the poor, and our "throw away culture." But, his call for greater accountability and environmental stewardship is continuing a trajectory begun by Bl. Pope Paul VI which was continued by St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. I agree with many catechists and commentators that we should not read *about* the document, rather, we should take time to read the document. Unlike any other document issued by the Catholic Church in recent y...