THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ BY POPE FRANCIS

Abstract

The encyclical letter Laudato si’ of Pope Francis published on 18/06/16 was much awaited and aroused stir within the Catholic Church, while being very well received by the lay circles of the militant ecologist. This text came as a well-programmed pontifical contribution to the reflections of COP 21. Between continuity and rupture, the Pope enriches the Social Doctrine of the Church with his experience of listening to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor in order to develop the concept of integral ecology. Beyond the knowledge of ecosystems or the protection of nature this concept invites us to think of the way of life of the human person inscribed in networks of fundamental relations. But this integral ecology presents itself as a project to be pursued and whose implementation will only be possible if each one engages in a path of conversion that will lead oneself to change one’s outlook on natural beings. This will make it possible to recognize the proper and intrinsic value of these beings, contrary to the representations of nature stemming from modernity.