For the cry of the Earth

“Let us pray that each of us listen with our hearts to the cry of the Earth and of the victims of environmental disasters and the climate crisis, making a personal commitment to care for the world we inhabit”. This is Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of September, which was presented in The Pope Video produced by The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.

The video shows scenes of hurricanes, wildfires, tsunamis, and drought, and it demonstrates the effects of the climate crisis on human beings: people fleeing environmental catastrophes, increasing numbers of emigrants, children forced to travel dozens of kilometres in search of water.

The Holy Father invites the faithful to “pray for the cry of the Earth. If we took the planet’s temperature”, he says, “it will tell us that the Earth has a fever. And it is sick, just like anyone who’s sick”. He goes on to pose two questions: “Are we listening to this pain?”, and “Do we hear the pain of the millions of victims of environmental catastrophes?”.

He explains that “the ones suffering most from the consequences of these disasters are the poor, those who are forced to leave their homes because of floods, heat waves or drought. Dealing with the environmental crisis caused by humans, such as climate change, pollution or the loss of biodiversity, begs responses that are not only ecological, but are also social, economic and political”. That’s why, he says, “we must commit ourselves to the fight against poverty and the protection of nature, changing our personal and community habits”.

The Pope Video is an official global initiative with the purpose of disseminating the Holy Father’s monthly prayer intentions. Available online at www.thepopevideo.org and translated into more than 23 languages, the video for the prayer intention for September was produced by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, distributed by La Machi Communication for Good Causes, and sponsored by Vatican Media.