Laudato si', path of conversion

Laudato si', ten years, a new wind, the beginning of a journey. Carlin Petrini, founder of Slow Food, the soul and inspiration of respect for the environment and a modern understanding of ecology, was among the first to grasp the spirit of Pope Francis's encyclical. "The relevant factor," he explains, "is the concept of integral ecology because everything is connected; the sufferings of the earth are the sufferings of humanity." It is a "revolutionary" idea that Francis developed, listening to the cry of the priests and bishops at the shrine of Aparecida, transforming it into an exhortation that engages everyone, laypeople and believers alike.

"Of course," he explains, "almost all of us are still at the intelligent avant-garde level, not the mass level. We are immersed, despite ourselves, in a classic model of an economy based solely on profit. The Pope has initiated a journey of conversion.

His encyclical was not an economic but a social one, perfectly responding to the degenerative times we live in. And, indeed, after a few years, Fratelli Tutti was released, a logical consequence. In this way, Francis developed the concept of universal fraternity and social justice, the two paths indicated for building a better world. Without respect for the environment, there is no fraternity, and the first step is ecological conversion.

The Pope was deeply concerned about the climate. He also knew that the process of degradation has its own speed, which is different from the maturation of a new environmental mindset.

"However," Petrini adds, "he often told me that to boil water, you have to light a fire, and he lit the fire, obviously from the bottom up. And that spark is beginning to bear fruit because virtuous practices start from the bottom up." In short, Laudato Si' linked the environment and its health to human life and began to make us aware "from within" that every concern for the earth is a building block in the construction of a renewed brotherhood among peoples.

"At first," he continues, "the need for this profound conversion was not understood by either the Catholic or secular avant-gardes. Pope Francis himself has matured the awareness that the evils afflicting the world are those that can poison people's lives, jeopardizing fundamental rights. He understood that environmental disruption is a reality and must be addressed urgently."

"His is a pressing call to address the most serious evils, such as pollution, climate change, the loss of biodiversity, and global warming, because all of these are at the root of inequality, injustice, and war."

But Pope Francis found himself faced with the insensitivity of the "great of the earth." "But he had the courage to throw a stone into stagnant water. That stone is creating many small but powerful and convincing ripples that are ever widening." They are already working, within us, on the ground, and around the world, to shape the foundations of that universal brotherhood that is the possible dream of humanity.

Gian Mario Ricciardi
NP November 2025