Pedro Walpole, SJ
Michael Kelly, SJ
/ Church Life / Published Date:17 September 2021/Last Updated Date:17 November 2021
“Laudato Si’,” or “Praise Be to You” is the ground-breaking encyclical of Pope Francis that addresses the ecological crisis facing the world in the 21st Century. It has put the Pope and the Catholic Church’s tradition of social teachings at the center of the international debate on climate change.
In this podcast Michael Kelly interviews Pedro Walpole, an Irishman who came to the Philippines as a forester, joined the Jesuits working on environmental programs and issues in the Philippines, elsewhere in Asia and across the world since the 1980s.
QUOTES
“For me, what is most beautiful about Laudato Si’ is it is a conversation of care, it’s humble, it’s open, it includes everyone”
“Covid emphasizes all of the things that have been said in Laudato Si’: we have to look after our neighbor, we need to respond to the crisis in India because if we don’t it will spread somewhere else”
“The problem is the economy has overtaken the ecology. Laudato Si’ asks us, in fairness, in response to humanity to reconsider how we are extracting from the world, polluting the world. There is a care that is needed so we celebrate the splendor and joy of Creation ”
