Pope Francis receives a group of ecological experts collaborating with the Bishops Conference of France on the themes of “Laudato Si’” telling them it is only by healing the human heart that the world can be healed from its social and environmental unrest.

“There will be no new relationship with nature without a new human being, and it is by healing the human heart that one can hope to heal the world from its social and environmental unrest.”

Those were Pope Francis’ prepared remarks to ecological experts gathered on Thursday, who are collaborating with the Bishops of France on the theme of Laudato Si’.

The Pope emphasized that we are all part of a single human family, living in a common home which is experiencing “disturbing degradation.” In off the cuff remarks to the group, he said, "one thing about ecological conversion is that it makes us see the general harmony, the correlation of everything: everything is connected, everything is related.

Pope Francis also noted that "when a people loses the sense of its roots, it loses its identity. But no! We are modern. Let's go and think about our grandparents, our great-grandparents...  But there is another thing that is history: there is belonging to a tradition, to a humanity, to a way of life... That is why it is very important today to take care of this, to take care of the roots of where we belong, so that the fruits are good."

In his scripted words, he pointed out that at the present time, “the health crisis that humanity is currently experiencing reminds us of our fragility. We understand to what extent we are linked to one another, part of a world we share, and that mistreating it can only have serious consequences, not only environmental, but also social and human.”

The Pope welcomed the fact that “the issue of ecology is increasingly permeating the ways of thinking at all levels and is beginning to influence political and economic choices, even if much remains to be done and even if we are still witnessing too slow and even backward steps.”

He also said, “For its part, the Catholic Church intends to participate fully in the commitment to the protection of the common home.”

The Church, he acknowledged, does not have all the answers, but “she wants to act concretely where this is possible, and above all she wants to form consciences in order to foster a profound and lasting ecological conversion, which alone can respond to the important challenges we face.”

With regard to this ecological conversion, Pope Francis went on to say, the Bible teaches us that the world was not born of chaos or chance, but of a decision of God Who made it out of love.

The Christian, he underlined, “cannot but respect the work that the Father has entrusted to him, like a garden to cultivate, to protect, to grow according to his potential.” And if a person has the right to make use of nature for their own ends, they can in no way consider themselves its owner. He or she, the Pope pointed out is the administrator who will have to account for its management.

He continued by saying, “when nature is considered solely as an object of profit and interest - a vision that consolidates the will of the strongest - then harmony is broken and serious inequalities, injustices and suffering occur.”

Focusing of the theme of connectedness, Pope Francis said, “the same indifference, the same selfishness, the same greed, the same pride, the same claim to be the master and despot of the world that leads human beings, on the one hand, to destroy species and plunder natural resources, on the other, to exploit misery, to abuse the work of women and children, to overturn the laws of the family cell, to no longer respect the right to human life from conception to the natural end.”

Quoting from his encyclical Laudato Si’, the Pope stressed, "if the ecological crisis is an emergence or an external manifestation of the ethical, cultural and spiritual crisis of modernity, we cannot delude ourselves that we can restore our relationship with nature and the environment without restoring all fundamental human relationships." Therefore, he said, in order to heal are common home, the human heart first needs to be healed.

Concluding his address, the Pope renewed his encouragement for the group’s to protect the environment.

“While the conditions on the planet may appear catastrophic and certain situations seem even irreversible, he said, “we Christians do not lose hope, because we have our eyes turned to Jesus Christ.

Papa Francisco recibió en Audiencia a un grupo de expertos comprometidos con la causa ecológica, que colaboran con la Conferencia Episcopal de Francia. El Santo Padre habló espontaneamente y entregó a los presentes el discurso preparado.

“Somos parte de una única familia humana, llamada a vivir en una casa común, donde vemos juntos, una inquietante degradación” subrayó Papa Francisco en el discurso que entregó a un grupo de expertos comprometidos con la causa ecológica, que colaboran con la Conferencia Episcopal de Francia, recibidos en Audiencia. El Santo Padre habló espontaneamente a los presentes 

“La crisis sanitaria que la humanidad está experimentando actualmente nos recuerda nuestra fragilidad -expresó en el texto preparado el Pontífice – y comprendemos hasta qué punto estamos vinculados unos a otros, insertos en un mundo cuyo devenir compartimos, y que maltratarlo sólo puede tener graves consecuencias, no sólo ambientales, sino también sociales y humanas”.

Al mismo tiempo, Papa Francisco reconoció que “es gratificante que la toma de conciencia de la urgencia de la situación se perciba ahora en todas partes, que la cuestión de la ecología impregne cada vez más las formas de pensar a todos los niveles y que empiece a influir en las opciones políticas y económicas, aunque quede mucho por hacer y sigamos viendo demasiada lentitud e incluso retrocesos”. Por su parte, expresó que Iglesia Católica desea participar plenamente en el compromiso de la protección de la casa común, actuando "concretamente donde sea posible, y sobre todo quiere formar conciencias para fomentar una conversión ecológica profunda y duradera, que es la única que puede responder a los importantes desafíos que debemos enfrentar”.

A continuación, en vistas a la conversión ecológica, el Pontífice subrayó “el modo en que las convicciones de fe ofrecen a los cristianos una gran motivación para la protección de la naturaleza, así como para los hermanos más frágiles”. El Santo Padre aseguró que “la ciencia y la fe, que proponen diferentes enfoques de la realidad, pueden desarrollar un diálogo intenso y fructífero”.

A partir de la Sagrada Escritura, Papa Francisco recordó que “la Biblia nos enseña que el mundo no nació del caos o del azar, sino de una decisión de Dios que lo llamó y siempre lo llama a la existencia, por amor”. Por esa razón, “el cristiano sólo puede respetar el trabajo que el Padre le ha confiado, como un jardín para cultivar, proteger, hacer crecer según sus posibilidades”. El hombre “no puede considerarse en modo alguno como su propietario o déspota, sino sólo como el administrador que tendrá que rendir cuentas de su gestión” afirmó el Pontífice.

Citando la encíclica Laudato si’ el Santo Padre expresó: “si la crisis ecológica es una eclosión o una manifestación externa de la crisis ética, cultural y espiritual de la modernidad, no podemos pretender sanar nuestra relación con la naturaleza y el ambiente sin sanar todas las relaciones básicas del ser humano”. De este modo, “no habrá una nueva relación con la naturaleza sin un nuevo ser humano, y es mediante la curación del corazón humano que se puede esperar curar al mundo de su malestar social y ambiental”.

El Santo Padre concluyó el discurso entregado renovando su aliento por los esfuerzos para proteger el medio ambiente, recordando que “mientras que las condiciones del planeta pueden parecer catastróficas y ciertas situaciones parecen incluso irreversibles, nosotros los cristianos no perdemos la esperanza, porque tenemos los ojos puestos en Jesucristo”.