I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you
into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Galatians 1:6
"Two years after the release of Laudato Si—and long after its intense global attention has faded—it's worth asking: is the uncompromising and unprecedented Catholic teaching document fulfilling Vatican expectations by uniting leaders of all faiths, along with their billions of congregants, to take decisive climate action "in care for our common home"?
The answer is a qualified "yes"—based on evidence from interviews with a range of faith leaders,
"There is an assumption that if religious leaders let the pope talk about [environmental protection], it will usher in rapid, large-scale change," said Fletcher Harper, executive director of GreenFaith, a U.S.-based interfaith environmental activism organization with an international reach.
GreenFaith conducted a training session in Brazil in May with 55 "emerging faith leaders" from 17 countries. The goal: Promote environmental awareness and identify realistic renewable energy and sustainability projects that can be achieved in each country.
January 27th, more than 125 international organizations—including a host of Catholic congregations, universities, along with environmental groups such as Greenpeace and 350.org—gathered in Rome for a conference titled "Laudato Si and Catholic Investing."
"The pope doesn't expect this movement to just be a Catholic thing," said longtime Vatican observer Robert Mickens, English editor of La Croix International in Rome. "What is extraordinary about the encyclical is that it is a project that the whole human race can engage in together. What unites all of humanity? The environment."
Nana Firman, co-founder of the Global Muslim Climate Network, recalled that, in early 2015—before Pope Francis made known his intention to produce Laudato Si—Muslim environmental leaders were drafting a statement in support of the U.N. climate negotiations to occur in Paris at year's end."
PacificStandard
