Pope Leo XIV Highlights the Laudato Si’ Action Platform at International Conference

On October 1, 2025, marking the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Leo XIV addressed participants of the Raising Hope for Climate Justice Conference, organized by the Laudato Si’ Movement.

In his keynote remarks, the Holy Father recognized the Laudato Si’ Action Platform alongside the Laudato Si’ Movement as a vital witness to ecological conversion in action. His message underscored the Church’s commitment not only to reflection and dialogue but also to measurable steps toward integral ecology and care for our common home.

The full press conference can be viewed on YouTube. Below are the remarks of Pope Leo XIV at the Mariapolis Center in Castel Gandolfo. 

My dear sisters and brothers, peace be with you.

Before continuing with a few prepared remarks, I would like to thank the two speakers who preceded me. But I would also add that if there is indeed an action hero with us this afternoon, it is all of you who are working together to make a difference.

As we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the encyclical Laudato Si’ and care for our common home, I cordially greet the organizers, speakers, participants, and all those who made the Raising Hope conference possible. I especially thank the Laudato Si’ Movement for supporting the dissemination and implementation of Pope Francis’ message from the very beginning.

This encyclical has greatly inspired the Catholic Church and many people of goodwill. It has proven to be a source of dialogue and has given rise to reflection groups, academic programs, partnerships, and projects of various kinds on every continent. Many dioceses and religious institutes have been moved to take action to care for our common home, helping once more to give priority to the poor and marginalized.

Its impact has extended to international summits, ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, economic and business initiatives, as well as theological and bioethical studies. The phrase care for our common home has been included in scientific, academic, and political addresses. Pope Francis’ concerns and recommendations have been appreciated and accepted not only by Catholics but also by many outside the Church who feel understood and supported in this moment of history.

His analysis, paradigm of integral ecology, insistent call for dialogue, and appeal to address the root causes of problems and to bring the whole human family together to seek sustainable and integral development have aroused widespread interest. Let us give thanks to our Father in Heaven for this gift we have inherited from Pope Francis.

The challenges identified in Laudato Si’ are even more relevant today than they were ten years ago. These challenges are social and political, but first and foremost spiritual. They call for conversion.

As with every anniversary of this nature, we remember the past with gratitude but also ask ourselves: What remains to be done? Over the years, we have transitioned from understanding and studying the encyclical to putting it into practice. What must be done now to ensure that caring for our common home and listening to the cry of the Earth and the poor do not appear as passing trends—or worse, as divisive issues?

In line with Laudate Deum, published two years ago, we must note that some have chosen to deride the increasingly evident signs of climate change, ridicule those who speak of global warming, and even blame the poor for what affects them most. Beyond spreading the message of the encyclical, it is now more important than ever to return to the heart.

In Scripture, the heart is not only the center of feelings and emotions but also the locus of freedom. It includes reason, yet transcends and transforms it, influencing and integrating all aspects of the person and their fundamental relationships. It is where external reality has the greatest impact, where the deepest searching takes place, where the most authentic desires are discovered, and where decisions are formed.

It is only by returning to the heart that true ecological conversion can take place. We must shift from collecting data to caring, and from environmental discourse to an ecological conversion that transforms both personal and communal lifestyles. For believers, this conversion is no different from the one that orients us toward the living God. We cannot love God, whom we cannot see, while despising his creatures. Nor can we call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ without participating in his outlook on creation and his care for all that is fragile and wounded.

Dear friends, let your faith inspire you to be bearers of the hope that comes from recognizing the presence of God already at work in history. Let us recall how Pope Francis described St. Francis of Assisi: he lived in simplicity and in harmony with God, with others, with nature, and with himself. He shows us the inseparable bond between concern for nature, concern for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.

May each of us grow in these four relationships—with God, with others, with nature, and with ourselves—through a constant attitude of conversion. Integral ecology thrives on these relationships. Through our commitment to them, we can grow in hope by living out the interdisciplinary approach of Laudato Si’. Unity and collaboration flow from this.

We are one family, with one Father, who makes the sun rise and sends rain on everyone. We inhabit the same planet, and we must care for it together. I therefore renew my strong appeal for unity around integral ecology and for peace.

It is encouraging to see the variety of organizations represented at this conference, as well as the many who have joined the Laudato Si’ Movement and the Platform for Action. Pope Francis emphasized that the most effective solutions will not come from individual efforts alone, but above all, from major political decisions at national and international levels.

Citizens must take an active role in decision-making at local, national, and regional levels. Only then will it be possible to mitigate the damage done to the environment. Local legislation will also be more effective if neighboring communities support the same environmental policies.

It is my hope that the upcoming international summits—the 2025 Climate Change Conference (COP30), the 53rd Plenary Session of the Committee on World Food Security, and the 2026 Water Conference—will listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, including families, indigenous peoples, involuntary migrants, and believers throughout the world.

At the same time, I encourage everyone, especially young people, parents, and those who work in local and national administrations and institutions, to play their part in finding solutions for today’s cultural, spiritual, and educational challenges—always striving for the common good.

There is no room for indifference or resignation. I conclude with a question that concerns each of us: God will ask us if we have cultivated, protected, and cared for the world he created for the benefit of all and for future generations, and if we have taken care of our brothers and sisters. What will be our answer?

My dear friends, I thank you for your commitment, and I happily extend to all of you my blessing. Thank you.

Featured image property of Vatican News/Vatican Media.