Pope Francis releases “Laudate Deum”

On October 4th, 2023, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, His Holiness Pope Francis released his latest Apostolic Exhortation, titled Laudate Deum (Praise God).

The sequel to his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, this latest document is meant to address what Francis calls the “global social issue” of climate change. Pope Francis states that in the eight years since Laudato Si’ was published, “our responses have not been adequate” to address ongoing ecological concerns.

In six chapters and 73 paragraphs, the Pope tries to clarify and bring to completion that 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.