In the spirit of PowerLinks, we’ll be adding a regular roundup on news concerning Pope Francis’ forthcoming encyclical on the environment and, more broadly, religious witness on environmental stewardship outside the Roman Catholic Church. This may be a daily PowerBlog feature, or you may see it less frequently depending on the volume of news and commentary on the subject. If you haven’t got to it yet, make sure you watch Rev. Robert A. Sirico’s excellent commentary on the encyclical, which was posted on Friday. We welcome your comments and please feel free to add links we may have missed. We’re looking for a robust exchange. That means we don’t necessarily need to agree with your position. But please keep the conversation civil and refrain from personal attacks.
Pope’s environmental encyclical to be titled ‘Laudato Sii’ (Praised Be You)
Elise Harris, Catholic News Agency
Taken from St. Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of the Sun” prayer praising God for creation, the likely name of the Pope’s upcoming encyclical was informally announced just weeks before its anticipated publication.
The upcoming “environment” encyclical, “human ecology”, and the everlasting pains of Hell
Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, Fr. Z’s Blog
Some say that the Pope’s next encyclical – on the “environment” – will be called “Laudato sii“. Some say that that’s Latin. No. It isn’t. It’s the 13th Umbrian which St. Francis of Assisi would have known and in which he penned his Canticle of the Sun.
Report: Papal encyclical named after St. Francis prayer of praise
Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
“Laudato sii” is the introductory phrase to eight verses of St. Francis of Assisi’s famous prayer thanking God for the gifts of creation.
The Worst Climate Change Canard
Noah Rothman, Commentary
No climate catastrophist would earn his or her stripes without deploying the vituperative and insulting claim that those who remain skeptical of the doomsday scenarios are indulging in “denialism.”
Is The Catholic Church Drifting Into Eco-Spirituality?
Maureen Mullarkey, The Federalist
Nature is to be respected. But loved? Nature kills. We can love nature only to the degree of our control of it, our protection from it.