Pope Urges World to Protect Creation from Greed and Conflict

Vatican City, July 2, 2025 : As the Church prepares to mark the Tenth World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on 1 September 2025, Pope Leo XIV has issued a message urging people everywhere to pursue environmental and social justice amid rising climate change, conflict, and inequality.

Titled Seeds of Peace and Hope and released on 2 July, the Pope’s message resonates with the spirit of the Jubilee Year, calling the faithful to live as “pilgrims of hope” and protectors of God’s creation.

Echoing the words of the prophet Isaiah, Pope Leo envisions transforming today’s “arid and parched desert” into “a fruitful field.” He insists this biblical image is not mere poetry but an urgent call to action in the face of ecological and human crises.

Quoting extensively from Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’, which marks its tenth anniversary this year, 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.”

He links environmental destruction to exploitation of the poor and marginalised, highlighting the disproportionate suffering of indigenous communities. Pope Leo warns that the global economy increasingly treats nature as a commodity, deepening the gap between rich and poor.

He laments that nature has become “a bargaining chip,” subjected to policies prioritising profit over people and the planet. From farmland littered with landmines to conflicts over water and raw materials, he paints a stark picture of a world where creation has become “a battleground for control and domination.”

“These wounds,” he says, “are the effect of sin,” describing them as a betrayal of the biblical call not to dominate creation but to “till and keep” it through care and responsibility.

Pope Leo stresses that environmental justice is not an abstract or secondary concern but a moral duty rooted in faith. “For believers,” he writes, “the universe reflects the face of Jesus Christ, in whom all things were created and redeemed.” Thus, caring for the planet is both an ecological necessity and a deeply spiritual vocation.

Encouraging practical steps, the Pope cites the Borgo Laudato Si’ project at Castel Gandolfo as an example of how education and community life shaped by ecological values can build a just and hopeful future.

He admits true change may take years but insists it demands “continuity, fidelity, cooperation and love.”

Concluding his message with a prayer, Pope Leo calls for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and expresses hope that Laudato si’ will continue to inspire people to embrace integral ecology as the right path forward.

“May integral ecology be increasingly accepted as the right path to follow,” he writes, “and may we sow seeds of justice that will bear the fruits of peace.”

Courtesy: Vatican News