“We must grow in awareness of caring for our common home”, Pope Francis said, speaking off the cuff during his General Audience catechesis, live streamed from the private library of the Apostolic Palace today.

The Pontiff decided to focus on that topic to mark the 50^th Earth Day and the 5^th anniversary of his Encyclical “Laudato si’”. Today, Pope Francis said, “is an occasion for renewing our commitment to love and care for our common home and for the weaker members of our human family”. “As the tragic coronavirus pandemic has taught us, we can overcome global challenges only by showing solidarity with one another and embracing the most vulnerable in our midst”, the Pope stressed, urging everyone to reflect on “that responsibility which characterizes our earthly sojourn”. “We are fashioned from the earth, and fruit of the earth sustains our life”, Pope Francis continued: “But, as the book of Genesis reminds us, we are not simply ‘earthly’; we also bear within us the breath of life that comes from God. Thus we live in this common home as one human family in biodiversity with God’s other creatures”. “As imago Dei, in God’s image – the Pope encouraged -, we are called to have care and respect for all creatures, and to offer love and compassion to our brothers and sisters, especially the most vulnerable among us, in imitation of God’s love for us, manifested in his Son Jesus, who became man in order to share our state with us and save us”.