Pope Francis released an apostolic exhortation Oct. 4 titled “Laudate Deum,” issued “to all people of goodwill on the climate crisis,” a follow-up to his “Laudato Si’” encyclical issued eight years ago.
Adam Fitzpatrick described “Laudato Si’” as “the first comprehensive teaching of the Church on the environment.”
At 18 pages, “Laudate Deum” is a resource for people who “want a quick, concise method of what is going on with some aspects of the climate crisis, but also concerns about international response,” said Fitzpatrick, social mission outreach coordinator for the Center for Mission, which supports missionary outreach in the archdiocese.
Fitzpatrick recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to discuss the new apostolic exhortation. He said it addresses three major things: Concerns about why some have not yet responded to the climate crisis; The history of international agreements, expressing joys and disappointments regarding status of multilateral agreements “from across the world;” And recognition that “… climate change is borne by the most vulnerable, and as such, we have to be paying special attention to the poor.”
If God created the universe, “it is our responsibility to help take care of it and to notice when problems are arising,” Fitzpatrick said, giving the example of “extreme weather patterns” even in Minnesota. “Laudate Deum” asks the faithful to “pay attention to these patterns as the signs of the times and then say, ‘What can we do in terms of our own lives?’” he said. It’s also important to have conversations with people in the community and with local elected officials. “Those are all possible things that we can do to say, ‘Hey, we need more action on this,’” Fitzpatrick said.
The Center for Mission’s Care for Creation Team serves the archdiocese, and it also is “connecting with other dioceses to develop a “Laudato Si’” chapter of Minnesota,” Fitzpatrick said. Members are developing prayer and educational resources, talking with other groups doing environmental work to become more informed and to speak with local elected officials and some national representatives, he said.
Fitzpatrick also gave examples of what churches can do to be more environmentally responsible. To hear more details and listen to the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Oct. 13 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. Oct. 14 and 2 p.m. Oct. 15. To learn more about the Center for Mission, visit centerformission.org.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Father Ben Little, pastor of St. John the Baptist in Savage, who discusses the importance of godparents and how to pick them; and Peter and Theresa Martin, founders of the Wojtyla Community, who describe “how one marriage can change the world.”
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
