{"id":117630,"date":"2025-09-06T13:40:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T11:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/?p=117630"},"modified":"2025-09-08T08:57:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T06:57:35","slug":"pope-leo-xiv-all-creatures-are-loved-by-god-and-worthy-of-love-and-respect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/pope-leo-xiv-all-creatures-are-loved-by-god-and-worthy-of-love-and-respect\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV: \u201cAll creatures are loved by God and worthy of love and respect\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The new edition of\u00a0The Pope Video<\/strong>\u00a0for the month of September is released. In it, the Pope asks for prayers \u201cthat, inspired by Saint Francis, we might experience our interdependence with all creatures who are loved by God and worthy of love and respect<\/strong>.\u201d The\u00a0Pope\u2019s Worldwide Prayer Network<\/strong><\/a>, responsible for the production and distribution of the video, was assisted this month by the\u00a0Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV\u2019s prayer intention this month is \u201cFor our relationship with all of creation.\u201d The video comes out within the context of the\u00a0Season of Creation<\/strong><\/a>, an ecumenical period from September 1 to October 4 (the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi) that unites Christians from various denominations in\u00a0prayer and action for the care of the earth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In fact, in the\u00a0original prayer\u00a0<\/strong>the Pope recites in the video, he asks the Lord: \u201cHelp us to discover Your presence in all creation, so that\u2026we may feel and know ourselves to be responsible for this common home where You invite us to care for, respect, and protect life.\u201d The\u00a0continuity between the teaching of Pope Leo XIV and Pope Francis<\/strong>, the author of the Encyclical\u00a0Laudato Si\u2019\u00a0<\/em>(2015), is particularly evident in the reference to Saint Francis: \u201cLike Saint Francis of Assisi, today we too want to say: \u2018Praised be You, my Lord!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

Two anniversaries, a special moment<\/h2><\/div>

The video accompanying the Pope\u2019s prayer intention, and the prayer itself, emphasize the special moment in which 2025 Season of Creation is taking place \u2013 it links two anniversaries: the 800th\u00a0anniversary of Saint Francis of Assisi\u2019s Canticle of Creation and the 10th\u00a0anniversary of Pope Francis\u2019s Encyclical\u00a0Laudato Si\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Franciscan background of the Holy Father\u2019s prayer intention comes alive through several images from the documentary\u00a0St. Francis of Assisi \u2013 Sign of Contradiction<\/em>, a gift to the Pope\u2019s Worldwide Prayer Network by the U.S. based film company\u00a010th Hour Productions<\/strong>. The anniversary of\u00a0Laudato Si\u2019<\/em>\u00a0is depicted through the Mass celebrated this past July 9 by Pope Leo XIV in the \u201cnatural cathedral\u201d (as he referred to it in his homily) of\u00a0Borgo Laudato Si\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>in Castel Gandolfo. This liturgy followed the prayers of the\u00a0Missa pro custodia creationis<\/em>\u00a0(Mass\u00a0for the Care of Creation), added to the Roman Missal by the Pope specifically for the 10th\u00a0anniversary of Pope Francis\u2019s encyclical.<\/p>\n<\/div>

We are all responsible for our common home<\/h2><\/div>

Among those concelebrating that Mass was Cardinal Michael Czerny S.J<\/strong>, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, which supported the production of this Pope Video. \u201cThe Jubilee of Hope and the 10th anniversary of the Encyclical\u00a0Laudato Si\u2019<\/em>\u00a0invite us to live a moment of gratitude, commitment to and care for our common home,\u201d the Cardinal highlighted. He added, \u201cAll creatures, even the smallest, are expressions of God\u2019s love. In prayer, we recognize the\u00a0value and sacredness of every life<\/strong>. The Holy Father encourages us to discover God\u2019s presence in creation. Contemplating it, we are called to\u00a0care for it, be reconciled to it, to live in harmony with and defend it<\/strong>\u00a0with a prophetic spirit, to respect every human person, and to promote lasting and sustainable peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his message, \u201cSeeds of Peace and Hope,\u201d for the 10th\u00a0World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (celebrated yesterday, September 1), Pope Leo XIV states that\u00a0the destruction of nature<\/strong>, a consequence of human sin,\u00a0affects most of all the poorest and most vulnerable<\/strong>.\u00a0Environmental justice<\/strong>, the Pope writes, \u201cis an urgent need that involves more than simply protecting the environment. For it is a matter of justice \u2013 social, economic and human,\u201d as well as a theological requirement. Since the weakest suffer the worst consequences of climate change and environmental destruction,\u00a0\u201ccare for creation becomes an expression of our faith and humanity.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>