To help us in reflecting 0n Pope Francis Care for our Common Home, look again at his introduction where he says :” Sister Earth “ cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods which God has endowed her.”

Questions:

1.Where have you seen harm inflicted on Sister Earth (Paragraph 2?)

2.St. Francis of Assisi has been called the patron saint of the environment. What is so attractive about him(10-12)?

3.Pope Francis concludes his introduction with an appeal (13-16) What is your response?

Chapter 1. This chapter presents the scientific consensus on climate change along with a description of other threats to the environment including threats to water supplies etc.

Questions:

1.How has pollution affected you or your family personally?

2.What does the Pope mean by a “throwaway culture” (22) ? Do you agree with him? Why?

3.What is meant when he says, “The climate is a common good” (23)?

4.What is the evidence that climate change is happening and is caused by human activity (23)?

5.The pope says “access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal right,” yet many poor people do not have access to it (27-31.) Why is this? What can be done?

6.Why does the pope think biodiversity is important (32-42)? What are the threats to ?

7.What are the effects on peoples lives of environmental deterioration, current models, current models of development, and the throw away culture(43-47)?

8.Why does the pope believe “we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation (48)?

9.Why does the pope think that simply reducing birth rates of the poor is not a just or adequate response to the problem of poverty or environmental degradation(50)?

1. “A true ecological debt exists, particularly between the global north and south ,” the pope writes (51)  What does he mean?