Nature's revenge and the Pope's "Laudato Si"

After the devastation by Typhoon Tino, we remember with poignant nostalgia one of the greatest papal masterpieces of all times, the encyclical "Laudato Si". It was the late Pope Francis' most enduring legacy to humanity written on May 15, 2015 on the third year of his pontificate.

The late pope called Mother Earth. This reminds me of the religious movie, "Brother Sun, Sister Moon". It was based on the life of Francesco, a spoiled son of rich Italian textile merchant, Pietro Bernardone. Francesco returned from fighting in a war for his homeland Assisi in its territorial dispute against Perugia. He was forced to leave the war because of a debilitating ailment. It was that serious sickness that transformed Francesco into a saint.

Francesco, who later became St. Francis, denounced all attachments to material wealth. He opted to become a monk after returning to his father all his material possessions. Then he became a defender of nature and the environment. He and his friend St. Claire were referred to as "Brother Sun, Sister Moon". Laudato Si, which was written by Pope Francis, is a contemporary call to all humanity to return to the original plan of God for man to take care of nature, and never to desecrate the natural environment.

The second paragraph of "Laudato Si" declares: "The sister (Nature) now cries out because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself burdened and laid waste is one of the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor, she groans in travails."

Pope Francis admonished all those who ravage our forests, destroy our lands in illegal mining, pollute our waters, kill our flora and fauna, and steal public funds intended for authentic flood control projects. He deplored: "We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth, our bodies are made of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters."

Pope Francis recalled the same message of Pope John XXIII in his Pacem in Terris in relation to Pope Francis' own Evangelii Gaudium. He also recalled the same call to nurture nature expressed by Pope Paul VI, St. Pope John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI, as well as Patriarch Bartholomew of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Pope Francis declared that St. Francis was the example of one who truly cared for nature.

Pope Francis sounded his earnest appeal: "The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development for we know that things can change. The Creator does not abandon us, He never forsakes his loving plan, or repents for having created us. Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home. Here I want to recognize, encourage and thank all those striving in countless ways to guarantee the protection of the home we share."

Pope Francis exhorted all to come together and have a dialogue. "I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all. The worldwide ecological movement has already made considerable progress and led to the establishment of numerous organizations committed to raising awareness of these challenges."

Laudato Si is quite long and its subtitles include what is happening to our common home, pollution and climate change, the issue of water, loss of biodiversity, decline of the quality of human life and the breakdown of society, global inequality, weak responses, and a variety of opinions.

By this time, after Tino, and all the past disasters and calamities we all have gone through, we should already be guided by the teachings of Laudato Si and call nature our mother, the flora and fauna as our brothers and sisters. St. Francis and Pope Francis have left us legacies we can no longer ignore.