Pope Francis was an extraordinary shepherd. Amid rapidly changing times, and multiple crises and challenges, he was filled with God’s grace and led the Church and world toward greater compassion, conversation, and justice.

Encouraging the world as he declared the Jubilee Year 2025 “Pilgrims of Hope,” Pope Francis said, “Even when around us many have succumbed to disillusionment, those who are inspired by hope and are patient are able to get through the darkest of nights” (General Audience, 8 May 2024, On Hope, the Second Theological Virtue).

Many of Pope Francis’ contributions relate to Care for Creation, a significant concern as we’ve witnessed climate disasters reach a critical stage. Just recently, for example, warmer temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and poor land management contributed to the Los Angeles wildfires. Similarly, North Carolina’s 2024 hurricane floods brought an unimagined scale of destruction where severe hurricane flooding was unknown.

Wildly fluctuating temperatures and more frequent severe weather is a reality about which Pope Francis spoke urgently in two encyclicals: Laudato Si and Laudate Deum. They call for a conversion of heart and change of direction to combat climate change.

“The world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point…Some effects of climate change are already irreversible…We barely have time to prevent even more tragic damage” (Laudate Deum 2, 15, 16).

“Our responses have not been adequate…the unusual rapidity of these dangerous changes is a fact that cannot be concealed” (Laudate Deum 2, 14).

Pope Francis’ teachings are a strong voice in this issue, which was also acknowledged by his predecessor.

“Preservation of the environment, promotion of sustainable development and particular attention to climate change are matters of grave concern for the entire human family” (Pope Benedict XVI, Seventh Symposium of the Religion, Science, and the Environment Movement, Sept. 1, 2007).

Thus, we must act and act now, on both individual and community levels. We all have the power to investigate, educate, and encourage individual and community commitments like recycling, composting, promoting indigenous plants, using renewable energy and energy conservation for homes, businesses, and parishes. As members of a church community, we can creatively explore sustainable practices for parish events, like fish fries and festivals. Jesus called us to live a life of radical simplicity (cf. Luke 12), and such actions are sacrificial, spiritually fulfilling, and inspirational to others.

While civil and church action are also needed from the local to the international levels, only a collective conversion of hearts and perspectives, of community beliefs, will bring effective policy revisions. In this Jubilee Year, we have hope that legislation and policy reduce carbon pollution for positive climate benefits.

The climate crisis is deadly to the most vulnerable and an existential threat to the world. Let us honor Pope Francis’ wise guidance: “All of us are pilgrims on this earth … may we never fail, in the course of our sojourn, to contemplate the beauty of creation and care for our common home. … [We] have come to realize that care for creation is an essential expression of our faith in God and our obedience to his will” (Letter for the Jubilee 2025, Nov. 2, 2022)

This article appeared in the June 2025 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.