On October 4th of this year, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic exhortation titled ‘Laudate Deum’ addressing the Climate Crisis. While Laudato Si’ served as a gentle invitation to care for creation, Laudate Deum stands as a clarion action call in response to the Climate Crisis.
So, what is an Apostolic exhortation? An Apostolic exhortation is a teaching document from the Pope, which intends to exhort (encourage) a particular value or action. In addition to Laudate Deum, Pope Francis has authored five such exhortations during his papacy. Notably, three of these exhortations were composed in response to Church Synods.
Here are ten aspects of this exhortation that leave me amazed.
THE TITLE ITSELF
Adopting an interesting literary style, Laudate Deum reveals its reason for being entitled “Praise God” only in its final paragraph, where Pope Francis states, “‘Praise God’ is the title of this letter.” He elaborates, “For when human beings claim to take God’s place, they
become their own worst enemies (LD 73).
I must admit that I initially felt enchanted by Pope Francis’ decision to write Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti in the vernacular Italian language. However disappointment surfaced when I learned of the Latin title for this exhortation. Yet, upon reading the explanation behind the title, my concerns were not only eased, I started to like the exhortation’s title.
Br. Sunil Britto CFC
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