On October 4th 2023, day of the feast of Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis released Laudate Deum (LD) an apostolic exhortation, that is a letter to all people of good will, on the climate crisis. It comes eight years after Laudato Si (LS), the foundational document in which Pope Francis made “care for our common home” a key issue for Christians. But the tone has dramatically changed between the two documents. Laudato Si was a detailed explanation on the roots of the ecological crisis, its consequences and the need for an integral transition, ecological, social and cultural. While neither blind to the urgency of the situation nor to the lack of proper response to the scale of the crisis, the document was a call to action and dialogue.
On the other hand, Laudate Deum, a much shorter and focused text, is a strong wake-up call. Pope Francis makes it explicit in his opening paragraphs: “Eight years have passed since I published the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, when I wanted to share with all of you, my brothers and sisters of our suffering planet, my heartfelt concerns about the care of our common home. Yet, with the passage of time, I have realised that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point” (LD2).
While Pope Francis goes through many reasons for this inadequacy, such as denial, misinformation, short-term economic views, national selfishness or over-reliance on a technical approach, one reason particularly stands out in the context of COP28; That is the lack of a proper international political framework. Praising the positive initiatives of the successive international conferences on climate, but also pointing out their limitations, Pope Francis reiterates in the end the conclusion he had already reached in Laudato Si: “the accords have been poorly implemented, due to lack of suitable mechanisms for oversight, periodic review and penalties in cases of noncompliance. The principles which they proclaimed still await an efficient and flexible means of practical implementation” (LS167/LD52). A radical change of approach is needed, as counting on the goodwill of the state has proved insufficient. In this, Pope Francis draws on a constant idea of the popes of the last decades: some form of international authority must be established, to ensure the preservation of common good at the planet scale.
Remaining hopeful of “the capacity of human beings to transcend their petty interests and to think in bigger terms” (LD53), even while acknowledging the irony of hosting COP28 in a country known for its fossil fuel exports, Pope Francis warns that in view of the urgency of the situation, the time has come for a process that is “drastic, intense and count on the commitment of all” (LD59). But again, this process will require measures that are “efficient, obligatory and readily monitored” (LD59). If these conditions are not met, COP28 will be just one more line in a long list of missed opportunities. Pope Francis provides us with a double grid to evaluate COP28 in terms of content and form.
Pope Francis has much to say in both Laudato Si and Laudate Deum on other important aspects of the transition ahead of us that I cannot cover here. Key to his thinking is the need for a new outlook on the world of communion rather than domination, and I wish we can all embark on this journey. However, as Pope Francis himself puts it: “I ask everyone to accompany this pilgrimage of reconciliation with the world that is our home and to help make it more beautiful, because that commitment has to do with our personal dignity and highest values. At the same time, I cannot deny that it is necessary to be honest and recognize that the most effective solutions will not come from individual efforts alone, but above all from major political decisions on the national and international level” (LD69).
Benoit Willamaers SJ
JESC Secretary for European Affairs
