The Cry of the Earth

Jennifer Henry
SRT 215: Story of Christianity
Leap
May 1st, 2020
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Humanity was created with the intention to praise the Creator through his goodness of
creation. St. Francis of Assisi had a deep devotion to creation that dives below the surface of just
environmental protection. He believed in preserving solidarity over all creation, from the
environment, to wildlife, to humanity. To Francis, every part of creation is connected, and he
seeks to better preserve the world around him. The life of St. Francis of Assisi has had great
attention in the church for centuries. His asceticism, which focuses on a life of chosen poverty
and reverence for creation, is incredibly attractive. His poverty and reverence came only
secondary compared to his dependence on God. St. Francis explains that “human poverty can
only reflect the great condescension of Jesus, who is God and yet dies for us, and then offer his
body,”1. Francis’ poverty was not necessarily a political movement against the rich, it was rather
a social acknowledgement to the marginalized, just like Christ’s was. Everything Francis did was
reflective of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Francis’ own chastity was a reflection of
“exclusive love for Jesus was at the same time inclusive of all humanity,”2. Francis treated every
part of creation as the same way he had treated Christ, a simple model useful for all of humanity.
He recognized creation as a perfect manifestation of the beauty of God. How does this asceticism
reflect into our modern-day polluted world?
Psalm 34 states “the Lord hears the cry of the poor,” but does the poor include the Earth?
Creation and humanity were cultivated within a covenant by God to provide for one another
since the beginning of time. Humanity was instructed to care for the Earth, and the Earth was
there to provide for humanity. Today, the Earth and its inhabitants are suffering. Global
temperatures have risen by 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit since the nineteenth century3, in the past
forty years there’s been a sixty percent decline in wildlife populations4, and less than one percent
of the world’s water is fresh and accessible5. These statistics may not be incredibly alarming or
in need of urgent attention. However, these statistics are a result of the lack of care for God’s

1
Carl Bunderson, “St. Francis' Poverty Often Misunderstood, Priest Explains,” Catholic News
Agency (Catholic News Agency, April 17, 2017), https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/st-
francis-poverty-often-misunderstood-priest-explains).
2
Murray Bodo, Francis: The Journey and the Dream (p. 19). (Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony
Messenger Press, 1989), 47.
3
“Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?,” NASA (NASA, December 30, 2019),
https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/).
4
“Endangered Species Conservation,” WWF (World Wildlife Fund), accessed May 1, 2020,
https://www.worldwildlife.org/)
5
Ibid.
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creation, both Earth and humanity. Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’, urges the
faithful to preserve all creation with the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi through solidarity,
discussions of ecology with sacred scripture, and a change of heart.
The world is incredibly divided by many factors, one being social class. There is an
illustrative divide between those who are well off, and those who have none. The people who are
suffering most in these global environmental issues are the poor. Laudato Si’ calls appreciation
of the “immense dignity of the poor,” that the Earth cannot be truly fixed until the humans living
on it are in communion.6Environmental change does not affect the developed world as much
because of availability to resources. Developed Countries often time take the resources from
underdeveloped countries to mask the environmental problems. Pope Francis calls the developed
countries to ration out resources in order for the underdeveloped countries to better themselves.
Poorer countries are less likely to abuse environmental resources as they do not have as readily
access to them as developed countries do. Essentially, every country has a “different
responsibility” in regard to preserving the Earth7. More developed countries can assist by
receiving proportional resources, while the poorer countries can appropriately distribute
resources in a way that is both economically and ecologically safe. Pope Francis parallels this
solidarity to St. Francis’s asceticism, “a refusal to turn reality into an object simply to be used
and controlled,”8. By allowing equal opportunities to resources, assets cannot be manipulated by
a single country that lead to devastating effects on the world as a whole. This leads to a better
environment and a better respect of human dignity. The respect of environment can only be
improved if humanity can better themselves in practice. The Pope is quick to point out that a
“true ecological approach becomes a social approach,”9 the discussion of inadequate ecological
resources must be discussed parallel to human inequality. The true way to fix the Earth is to first
fix the inhabitants of that Earth.
The preservation of the environment comes from many factors including political,
sociological, economical, and scientifically. Pope Francis in his encyclical seeks to shift the
discussion on the environment to spiritual and asks us to look at the discussion of ecology from a
point of view of Sacred Scripture. Every person on the planet is connected by two elements;

6
Francis, Laudato Si’ (Vatican City: Vatican City Press, 2015), 158.
7
Ibid., 52.
8
Ibid., 12.
9
Ibid., 48.
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created by God and created on the same Earth. Calling on the world outside of the ecumenical
communities, Pope Francis claims this new dialogue for environmental protection must come
from all those who share in our “common home,” the common home built for the world in the
first chapter of the book of Genesis.10 Human beings in the book of Genesis were given the
responsible stewardship in tending the Earth, but also to the need to practice religious virtues that
would discourage the indulgence in practices that would place stress on the natural world. Pope
Francis describes that humanity has done “too much tilling and not enough keeping” of this
request by God11. St. Francis is believed to have saved the rupture of the environment caused in
the early Biblical accounts, but unfortunately, humanity has only strayed further from that
environmental perfection. Environmental abuse is the consequence of disobedience to the
church’s moral teaching; the very essence of the Incarnation stems from the point that nature is
so essentially good because God participates and manifests himself in his own goodness. The
same virtues given to humanity in the beginning of time are applicable to today’s standard.
Ecological virtues nurture the covenant between humanity and the environment, and foster the
duties given to us by our maker. Ecological theology argues the obligation to respect the inherent
goodness of Nature and take action for its conservation. It has been the duty for human beings to
care for the Earth since the beginning of time, a duty that humanity has since lost control.
The best way to overcome the environmental issues is for a conversion of heart. Pope
Francis places his strongest criticism on the wealthy who ignore climate change and its effects on
the poor. Murray Bodo writes this quote of St. Francis, “People saw love in people who love, in
people whose relationship with one another radiated a higher than human love,”12. Those whose
love radiate Christ attract those who hunger for the love of Christ. Pope Francis sights this
mentality of St. Francis by calling for a reconciliation between humanity and the environment13.
How does humanity achieve this reconciliation with creation? The same way Reconciliation is
received in the church; through an examination of conscience. From the recognition of our
wrongs, humanity can move forward to a penance for creation, to cleanse the world of the
pollution that has occurred inside of it. Overall, this conversion calls for a heart t love creation.

10
Francis, Laudato Si’ No. 14, 16, 62, 155
11
Ibid., No 2
12
Murray Bodo, Francis: The Journey and the Dream (p. 19). (Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony
Messenger Press, 1989), 19.
13
Francis, Laudato Si’ 218.
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Restoring creation to its full potential requires humanity “restoring the sacred in ourselves and
includes the sacredness of all life in our discussions, decisions, and actions,”14. The call to
conversion the Pope is asking us to have must come from a conversion of our hearts for
ourselves. St. Francis leads us in this example by his own, by giving up a life of luxury for a life
of poverty. St. Francis reflects the conversion humanity must all exemplify through day-to-day
life, respecting all human beings, respecting wildlife, and respecting nature. Modeling the life of
St. Francis, humanity is called to have a conversion of heart for the betterment of the world.
In the beginning of creation, God entrusted humanity to look after his creation. All of
creation, from the plants, to wildlife, to humanity, were created by the goodness of God for the
goodness of God. St. Francis of Assisi lived a life devoted to serving the marginalized of God’s
creation and reverencing that goodness. By his example, humanity can better preserve the world
it was created to live amongst in harmony. Pope Francis addresses the concern for environmental
abuse in his 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’, where he instructs the faithful to better care for the
Earth. These instructions include solidarity, discussions of ecology with sacred scripture, and a
change of heart. Wisely allocating world resources, reflecting on the gospel message, and living
by St. Francis’ example, the world may become a better environment for future generations. The
exploitation of the Earth and the disrespect of human life has become a problem for a world. By
the tradition of St. Francis and the message of Pope Francis, the world can revert to the peace
that was intended for creation.

Bibliography
Bodo, Murray. Francis: The Journey and the Dream. Cincinnati, Ohio: St. Anthony Messenger,
1989.

14
John Hart, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Ecology. (New York: John Wiley
& Sons, Incorporated, 2017), .
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Bunderson, Carl. “St. Francis' Poverty Often Misunderstood, Priest Explains.” Catholic News
Agency. Catholic News Agency, April 17, 2017.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/st-francis-poverty-often-misunderstood-
priest-explains.
“Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?” NASA. NASA, December 30, 2019.
https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/.
Francis. Laudato si’. Vatican City: Vatican Press, 2015.
Hart, John, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Ecology. New York: John Wiley &
Sons, Incorporated, 2017.
“Endangered Species Conservation.” WWF. World Wildlife Fund. Accessed May 1, 2020.
https://www.worldwildlife.org/.
Martin, James. “Top Ten Takeaways from 'Laudato Si''.” America Magazine, April 29, 2019.
https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2015/06/18/top-ten-takeaways-laudato-si.