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VATICAN (CNS): “Let us pray that we all will make courageous choices, the choices necessary for a simple and environmentally sustainable lifestyle, taking inspiration from our young people who are resolutely committed to this,” Pope Francis said in a video message released by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network on September 1, offering his prayer intentions for the month.
Speaking about his monthly intention, the pope said, “It makes me very happy to see that young people have the courage to undertake projects for environmental and social improvement, since the two go together.”
September 1 also marked the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which also kicked off the celebration of the Season of Creation, which runs to October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology.
The theme this year is A home for all? Renewing the Oikos of God, Pope Francis said during his general audience at the Vatican on September 1. He told those gathered that he, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, an early leader in the Christian ecology movement, and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury “have prepared a message that will be issued in the coming days.”
He said, “Together with our brothers and sisters of different Christian denominations, let us pray and work for our common home in these times of grave crisis for the planet.”
‘Let us choose to change. Let us advance with young people toward lifestyles that are simpler and more respectful of the environment’
Pope Francis
The pope also confirmed that “in principle” he was scheduled to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, in November, during an interview with COPE, the radio network owned by the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, and aired on September 1.
In the rest of his video message for the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, the pope said that the world’s adults need to be inspired by and follow the lead of today’s young people, who are at the forefront of caring for the environment.
“We adults can learn much from them, because in all matters related to care for the planet, they are at the forefront. Let us take advantage of their example and reflect on our lifestyle, especially during these moments of health, social and environmental crisis,” he said.
“Let us reflect on how the way we eat, consume, travel, or the way we use water, energy, plastics, and many other material goods, is often harmful to the earth,” Pope Francis said.
“Let us choose to change. Let us advance with young people toward lifestyles that are simpler and more respectful of the environment,” he said,
Young people “aren’t foolish because they are committed to their own future. This is why they want to change what they will inherit at a time when we will no longer be here,” the pope said.
