Between its introduction and concluding prayers, Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si, is divided into six chapters:

What is Happening to Our Common Home

The Gospel of Creation

The Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis

Integral Ecology

Lines of Approach and Action

Ecological Education and Spirituality 

When I read comments about this encyclical, I find myself wondering if the commenters have indeed read it.  It might be my own bias, some comments almost seem tinged with pantheism.  With it seemingly being mentioned with increasing frequency, I reviewed my notes from shortly after the release of the encyclical....

What is Happening to Our Common Home

"48. The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation...."

"49....we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor"

"50....[To] blame population growth instead of extreme and selective consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the issues. It is an attempt to legitimize the present model of distribution, where a minority believes that it has the right to consume in a way which can never be universalized...."

To paraphrase the Holy Father, an authentic ecological approach must hear the cries of the earth and of the poor.  Supposed overpopulation is an all too excuse to throw at impoverished people, who are victimized by selfish consumerism.  

The Gospel of Creation

"90. This is not to put all living beings on the same level nor to deprive human beings of their unique worth and the tremendous responsibility it entails. Nor does it imply a divinization of the earth....At times we see an obsession with denying any pre-eminence to the human person; more zeal is shown in protecting other species than in defending the dignity which all human beings share in equal measure...."

Humanity must recapture the sense of stewardship of the earth and its resources for the good of all people, including those yet to be born.

The Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis

"117....When we fail to acknowledge as part of reality the worth of a poor person, a human embryo, a person with disabilities – to offer just a few examples – it becomes difficult to hear the cry of nature itself...."

"136....when some ecological movements defend the integrity of the environment, rightly demanding that certain limits be imposed on scientific research, they sometimes fail to apply those same principles to human life. There is a tendency to justify transgressing all boundaries when experimentation is carried out on living human embryos…."

Pope Francis did not shy away from condemning a hypocritical “environmentalism” that fails to properly respect all human life.

Integral Ecology

"155. Human ecology also implies another profound reality: the relationship between human life and the moral law, which is inscribed in our nature and is necessary for the creation of a more dignified environment….Learning to accept our body, to care for it and to respect its fullest meaning, is an essential element of any genuine human ecology. Also, valuing one’s own body in its femininity or masculinity is necessary if I am going to be able to recognize myself in an encounter with someone who is different…."

"157. Underlying the principle of the common good is respect for the human person....It has also to do with the overall welfare of society and the development of a variety of intermediate groups, applying the principle of subsidiarity. Outstanding among those groups is the family, as the basic cell of society...."

Very straightforward on topics though to be controversial!

Lines of Approach and Action

"185....we know that water is a scarce and indispensable resource and a fundamental right which conditions the exercise of other human rights. This indisputable fact overrides any other assessment of environmental impact on a region."

What a heinous crime that any “aid” to impoverished nations would try to impose contraceptives, instead of clean water!

Ecological Education and Spirituality

"211....There is a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions, and it is wonderful how education can bring about real changes in lifestyle. Education in environmental responsibility can encourage ways of acting which directly and significantly affect the world around us, such as avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices. All of these reflect a generous and worthy creativity which brings out the best in human beings. Reusing something instead of immediately discarding it, when done for the right reasons, can be an act of love which expresses our own dignity."

"213....In the face of the so-called culture of death, the family is the heart of the culture of life'.[149] In the family we first learn how to show love and respect for life; we are taught the proper use of things, order and cleanliness, respect for the local ecosystem and care for all creatures. In the family we receive an integral education, which enables us to grow harmoniously in personal maturity. In the family we learn to ask without demanding, to say 'thank you' as an expression of genuine gratitude for what we have been given, to control our aggressivity and greed, and to ask forgiveness when we have caused harm. These simple gestures of heartfelt courtesy help to create a culture of shared life and respect for our surroundings."

"235. The Sacraments are a privileged way in which nature is taken up by God to become a means of mediating supernatural life. Through our worship of God, we are invited to embrace the world on a different plane…."

"236. It is in the Eucharist that all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation....the Eucharist is also a source of light and motivation for our concerns for the environment, directing us to be stewards of all creation."

"237....Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world....the day of rest, centred on the Eucharist, sheds it light on the whole week, and motivates us to greater concern for nature and the poor."

Stewardship, the indispensable role of the family, and our Eucharistic faith are at the very heart of this encyclical!  As per comments after its release:

“We have dominion over the world only as its stewards, not as its sovereigns. And as stewards, we have the duty to respect the created order and husband it for the common good….just as St. Francis treasured the beauty of the world as a mirror of God’s love, so Pope Francis seeks to protect its beauty as a good steward….Laudato Si is a wide-ranging and detailed text. It includes an unusual level of scientific analysis and policy recommendations. Climate change and economic development play key roles in the document’s content. This will invite discussion….Laudato Si speaks eloquently of inter-generational solidarity; the beauty of the family; the dishonesty of population control as an answer to poverty; the broad duties of rich nations to those that are poor; and the dignity of the human body in its God-given masculine and feminine forms….For the Holy Father, a humane ecology includes much more than our treatment of the material world. It involves our bodies, our sexuality and personhood as well” (Archbishop Charles Chaput, 6/18/15).