Paul
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Feast of Saint Francis
Pope Francis begins his Laudato Si encyclical with the words of Saint Francis of Assisi: “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and… Continue reading
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The Blessing of Animals
In Laudato Si, Pope Francis reminds us to cherish the animals, not just as food or beasts to be controlled: Together with our obligation to use the earth’s goods responsibly, we are called to recognize that other living beings have… Continue reading
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Laudato Si in NW Catholic
Paul Litwin’s article on the climate crisis was published on the Northwest Catholic (the official news magazine and website of the Archdiocese of Seattle) website on the Global Climate Strike day, September 20, 2019. Continue reading
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Humility
The New Testament is filled with Jesus’ teachings on humility, including this passage from the September 1st gospel: For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be raised up. What does humility… Continue reading
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Your Personal Season of Creation
As I mentioned previously, Pope Francis released a message at the start of the Season of Creation on September 1: This season of increased prayer and effort on behalf of our common home begins today, 1 September, the World Day… Continue reading
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The Season of Creation
On September 1, Pope Francis released a message at the start of the Season of Creation: This season of increased prayer and effort on behalf of our common home begins today, 1 September, the World Day of Prayer for the… Continue reading
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Water, the Source of Life
I think we can all agree that water is essential to life; without it, the vast majority of life will perish, including people. Pope Francis writes specifically about water in Laudato Si: …as the quality of available water is constantly… Continue reading
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Is climate change for real?
Climate change has been in the newspapers, on television news programs, and internet news sites a lot lately. Just in the past few weeks we have read about record heat in Europe, the melting of glaciers in Iceland, Greenland, and… Continue reading
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Measuring progress
Laudato Si was released in May 2015. Since that time, progress on reducing our global climate footprint and our trajectory towards an irreversible climate catastrophe has been mixed at best. Shortly after Laudato Si’s release, the Paris Agreement committed most… Continue reading
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Not Just an Encyclical for the Environment
Papal encyclicals take their name from the latin encyclius, or circle. Originally, the name came from the fact that an encyclical was a letter that circulated from the Holy Father to bishops, and then to priests, and finally to all… Continue reading
