By Linda Bordoni
As the Church prepares to mark the Tenth World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on Sep 1 2025, Pope Leo XIV’s message for the occasion urges Christians and all people of goodwill to recognize the urgent need for environmental and social justice in a world increasingly scarred by climate change, conflict, and inequality.
Entitled Seeds of Peace and Hope and released on Jul 2, the Pope’s message resonates with the spirit of the ongoing Jubilee Year, calling the faithful to embrace their role as “pilgrims of hope” and stewards of God’s creation.
Justice in a wounded world
Echoing the prophetic words of Isaiah, Pope Leo invites the global community to envision a transformation of today’s “arid and parched desert” into “a fruitful field.” This biblical vision, he explains, is not a poetic metaphor but an urgent call to action in the face of alarming ecological and human crises.
Quoting extensively from Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’ in the year of its 10th anniversary, he writes, “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.”
Linking environmental destruction to the exploitation of the poor and marginalized, he highlights the disproportionate suffering of indigenous communities and the widening gap between rich and poor as hallmarks of a system that treats nature as a commodity rather than a common home.
Nature as a battleground
He laments the fact that nature itself has become “a bargaining chip,” subjected to policies and practices that prioritize profit over people and the planet. From agricultural lands riddled with landmines to conflicts over water and raw materials, Pope Leo paints a sobering picture of a creation “turned into a battleground” for control and domination.
These wounds, he says, are “the effect of sin,” a betrayal of the biblical command not to dominate creation, but to “till and keep” it, a call to cultivate and preserve the Earth through a relationship of care and responsibility.
Environmental justice as a moral imperative
The Pope’s message reaffirms the Church’s commitment to an “integral ecology,” a concept at the heart of Laudato si’. Environmental justice, the Holy Father affirms, is not an abstract or secondary concern but a “duty born of faith.”
“For believers,” he writes, “the universe reflects the face of Jesus Christ, in whom all things were created and redeemed.” In this light, caring for the planet becomes not only an ecological necessity but also a profoundly spiritual and moral vocation.
Seeds that bear fruit
Encouraging concrete action, Pope Leo calls for perseverance and love in sowing “seeds of justice” that will, in time, bear the fruits of peace. He cites the Borgo Laudato Si’ project at Castel Gandolfo as a tangible example of how education and community life rooted in ecological values can shape a just and hopeful future.
“This may take years,” the Pope acknowledges, “but years that involve an entire ecosystem made up of continuity, fidelity, cooperation and love.”
A blessing for the future
Concluding his message with a prayer for the outpouring of God’s Spirit, Pope Leo XVI invokes the hope of the risen Christ as the guiding light for a world longing for healing.
“May continue to inspire us,” he writes, “and may integral ecology be increasingly accepted as the right path to follow.” – Vatican News
