Papal encyclical received with great joy by the NCCA

Papal encyclical received with great joy by the NCCA

Pope Francis’ highly anticipated environmental encyclical, Laudato si’ or Praise be to you: on the care of our common home, was released yesterday (18 June) and has been received with great joy and support by the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA). This encyclical calls on every person living on this planet to care for creation, our common home, and take collective action as we face global environmental degradation.

The most significant statement on ecology from the Holy See, the encyclical draws upon Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew’s teaching ‘to replace consumption with sacrifice, greed with generosity, wastefulness with a spirit of sharing, an asceticism which “entails learning to give, and not simply to give up. It is a way of loving, of moving gradually away from what I want to what God’s world needs. It is liberation from fear, greed and compulsion.” (Paragraph 9)

In Laudato si’ Pope Francis reminds us that we have an ethical responsibility to actively respond to the challenges of climate change, sustainable development and environmental degradation. He shows us that all of creation is connected, and that a respect for environmental ecology is a condition of, and conditioned by, respect for human ecology. As Christians, we must implement a collective response based on a culture of learning, solidarity, dialogue and action.

General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia, Sr Elizabeth Delaney sgs, said, ”Pope Francis has expressed our relationship to the environment in new ways that urge us to respond – with our whole being. He speaks with love for all people – may we respond in love.’

Convenor of the NCCA Eco Mission Project, Jacqui Remond is excited and inspired by Laudato si’. Jacqui sees this encyclical as an “opportunity for collective action and systemic change, that is fundamental to the ecological vision Pope Francis offers for our Australian community and humanity globally ”.

At this crucial time, the National Council of Churches invites the Christian Community and wider Australian Community to journey with us, and take action to address the challenges and opportunities explored in Laudato si’.

The NCCA Eco Mission Project

The NCCA Eco Mission Project was formed by the NCCA to build a network amongst the Churches to explore the spiritual, ethical and social questions posed by the ecological crises we face as a nation and as a global community. Through education, dialogue and advocacy, the NCCA Eco Mission Project supports the understanding that our planet is fragile and beautiful. As an expression of our faith, we are called to join together to care for our common home.

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