Description
“’Praise God’ is the title of this letter. For when human beings claim to take God’s place, they become their own worst enemies.” That’s how Pope Francis ends his new Apostolic Exhortation, published on the 4th October, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi. It’s a text in continuity with his 2015 encyclical Laudato si’, which is broader in scope. In six chapters and 73 paragraphs, the Successor of Peter tries to clarify and bring to completion the previous text on integral ecology, while at the same time sounding an alarm, and a call for co-responsibility, in the face of the climate emergency. In particular, the Exhortation looks ahead to COP28, which will be held in Dubai between the end of November and beginning of December.
