In his recent message for the 10th World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Leo XIV delivers a sobering yet hope-filled call to Catholics and all people of goodwill: our wounded planet demands both urgent justice and enduring love.
Why must Catholics care for creation today? Because, as Pope Leo warns, “nature itself has become ‘a bargaining chip,’” exploited for profit and power in a world fractured by environmental degradation and social inequality. The Pope’s message, Seeds of Peace and Hope, released on July 2, 2025, ties this global crisis to a deeper moral problem: sin.
Quoting from Pope Francis’ Laudato si’, now marking its 10th anniversary, Pope Leo describes a world in which “injustice, violations of international law and the rights of peoples, grave inequalities, and the greed that fuels them are spawning deforestation, pollution, and the loss of biodiversity.” In his view, these symptoms aren’t just scientific or political concerns—they are the result of a “betrayal of the biblical command not to dominate creation, but to ‘till and keep’ it.” That command, given in Genesis, calls for humanity to enter into a covenantal relationship with creation—one based on care, not control.
The Pope’s challenge is spiritual, but it is far from abstract. He points to specific human tolls, especially among “indigenous communities” and the poor, who bear the brunt of ecological harm. These vulnerable groups are “treated as collateral damage in a system that sees nature as a resource rather than a home,” according to Pope Leo. In today’s world, he laments, even basic resources like water and farmland have become causes for war, with agricultural lands “riddled with landmines” and whole ecosystems lost in the pursuit of dominance.
So how should the faithful respond? By becoming “pilgrims of hope,” in the Pope’s words, committed to sowing “seeds of justice” that will one day yield peace. This work is not flashy. It is slow, often invisible, and deeply relational. “This may take years,” Pope Leo concedes, “but years that involve an entire ecosystem made up of continuity, fidelity, cooperation and love.”
One example he offers is the Borgo Laudato Si’ project at Castel Gandolfo, where ecological education and community life come together to model what he calls “integral ecology.” This concept, at the heart of Laudato si’, sees human life, economic systems, and the environment as profoundly interwoven. For Catholics, it means caring for creation is not optional—it is “a duty born of faith.”
“For believers,” Pope Leo reminds us, “the universe reflects the face of Jesus Christ, in whom all things were created and redeemed.” That truth elevates environmental care from a political issue to a spiritual mandate. To wound creation is to disregard the image of Christ that it bears.
As the Church enters this year’s World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on September 1, Pope Leo concludes his message with a blessing and a challenge: “May Laudato si’ continue to inspire us,” he writes, “and may integral ecology be increasingly accepted as the right path to follow.”
In a world marked by crisis, Pope Leo XIV is urging Catholics to be gardeners of justice—planting seeds today for a harvest of peace tomorrow.
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