"Listen to the voice of creation" is the theme and invitation of this year’s Season of Creation which is a special time for all Christians to pray and work together to care for "our common home." It was originally inspired by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Pope requests that we listen carefully so we will "hear a song in praise of our beloved Creator"; but also "hear the anguished plea, lamenting our mistreatment of this our common home."

Pope Francis proposes that we practice "ecological spirituality" (Laudato Si’, 216) which bases our spirituality on the "loving awareness that we are not disconnected from the rest of creatures, but joined in a splendid universal communion" (ibid., 220). The song of praise is accompanied by a "cry of anguish." Countless species are dying out and their "hymns of praise" silenced. Also, the poorest among us who are crying out because they feel the impact of the drought, flooding, hurricanes and heat waves that are becoming ever more intense and frequent. The native peoples are crying out because their ancestral lands are being invaded and devastated on all sides. Finally, there is the plea of our children.

Pope Francis quotes himself by saying, "Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience" (Laudato Si’, 217). It is also necessary that we cooperate with the community of nations, especially in the meetings of the United Nations devoted to climate change and its effects.There will be two meetings in 2022.

The COP27 conference on climate change is to be held in Egypt in November. The conference is working to achieve the Paris goal of limiting temperature increase to 1.5°C. This is a demanding goal for the countries of the world requiring them to present climate plans to reduce Green House Gases to zero.

The COP15 summit on biodiversity, to be held in Canada in December, will offer an opportunity to adopt a new multilateral agreement to halt the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of species.

Pope Francis has requested the nations of the world to reach agreement on four key principles:

1. to construct a clear ethical basis for the changes needed to save biodiversity
2. to combat the loss of biodiversity, to support conservation and cooperation, and to satisfy people’s needs in a sustainable way
3. to promote global solidarity in light of the fact that biodiversity is a global common good demanding a shared commitment
4. to give priority to people in situations of vulnerability, including those most affected by the loss of biodiversity, such as indigenous peoples, the elderly and the young.

Pope Francis in his message repeats his request to industries "In the name of God, I ask the great extractive industries – mining, oil, forestry, real estate, agribusiness – to stop destroying forests, wetlands, and mountains, to stop polluting rivers and seas, to stop poisoning food and people." Also he emphasizes richer countries should once again acknowledge the existence of an "ecological debt" (Laudato Si’, 51) incurred by the economically richer countries and keep their promises of financial and technical support for the economically poorer nations.

This is a summary of the message that Pope Francis released for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation; the complete text of the message from Pope Francis given in Rome, at Saint John Lateran, on 16 July 2022, for the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel can be found here.