The Indian edition of the Apostolic Exhortation “Laudate Deum,” authored by Pope Francis, was recently unveiled during the South Asian bishops’ training program held in Kathmandu, Nepal, on October 11.
Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, the Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal, presided over the release ceremony.
The event witnessed the presence of several dignitaries, including Archbishop Anil J T Couto of Delhi, who also serves as the Secretary General of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), Bishop Paul Simick, the Apostolic Vicar of Nepal, Bishop Allwyn D’Silva, the Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Bombay, Father Baptist Pais, the Executive Secretary of the Commission for Ecumenism, and Father Stephen Alathara, the Deputy Secretary General of CCBI.
Pope Francis officially introduced “Laudate Deum” on October 4, 2023, coinciding with the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
This Apostolic Exhortation serves as a call to action in response to the pressing climate crisis and is a natural continuation of his 2015 encyclical, “Laudato si’,” which addresses the imperative of caring for our shared environment.
An Apostolic Exhortation is a teaching document issued by the pope, typically aimed at encouraging specific virtues or activities.
In “Laudate Deum,” comprising six chapters and 73 paragraphs, Pope Francis seeks to provide further clarity and expansion on the concept of integral ecology, all while urgently raising the alarm regarding the climate emergency and the necessity for collective responsibility.
In Pope Francis’s own words, “Eight years have passed since I published the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, when I wanted to share with all of you, my brothers and sisters of our suffering planet, my heartfelt concerns about the care of our common home. Yet, with the passage of time, I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point. In addition to this possibility, it is indubitable that the impact of climate change will increasingly prejudice the lives and families of many persons. We will feel its effects in the areas of healthcare, sources of employment, access to resources, housing, forced migrations, etc.”
This is undeniably a global social issue, profoundly intertwined with the dignity of human life, as the adverse effects of climate change disproportionately affect the most vulnerable populations.
The Indian edition of “Laudate Deum” is published by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), as confirmed by Father Stephen Alathara, the Deputy Secretary General of CCBI.
