This was due primarily to concerns about Malthusian-derived concepts about population control and how that related to Catholic moral teachings on aspects such as artificial contraception and abortion, as emphasised in Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae.

"[11] Francis "pulls no punches" when lamenting pollution, climate change, a lack of clean water, loss of biodiversity, and an overall decline in human life and a breakdown of society.

It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day" and warns of "unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequence for all of us" if prompt climate change mitigation efforts are not undertaken.

"[10] Citing the New Zealand Bishops' Conference Statement on Environmental Issues, Francis asks "what the commandment 'Thou shall not kill' means when 'twenty percent of the world's population consumes resources at a rate that robs the poor nations and future generations of what they need to survive.

[1] Religions, including Christianity, can make "rich contributions ... towards an integral ecology and the full development of humanity,"[1] however, "the scientific and experimental method" itself can be part of the problem when it decouples creation from the Creator.

[10] He adds that the encyclical's tone lacks elements commonly found in the works of John Paul II and Benedict XVI that, in the tradition of Gaudium et spes, would have affirmed the modern world while correcting its errors.

"[1] More fundamentally, according to the pontiff, we need to recognize that "technology severed from ethics will not easily be able to limit its own power", and that "the most extraordinary scientific advances, the most amazing technical abilities, the most astonishing economic growth, unless they are accompanied by authentic social and moral progress, will definitively turn against man.

"[1] According to a New York Times summary, the encyclical is "sweeping" in scope and is wide-ranging (80 pages / 45,000 words), including mentions of such topics as urban planning, agricultural economics, biodiversity,[2] and cultural protection.

[13] One of the experts consulted was Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, the founder and head of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and chair of the German Advisory Council on Global Change.

[28] On 28 April 2015, in advance of the encyclical's release, the Vatican hosted a one-day conference on climate change, featuring Turkson, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (who delivered the keynote address), Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa and American economist Jeffrey Sachs.

[35] The New York Times and the Italian newspaper La Stampa both noted suggestions that the leak came from conservatives inside the Vatican who wished to embarrass the pope and hinder the rollout of the encyclical.

"[43] Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Archbishop of Manila, wrote that "In Laudato si' Pope Francis reminds us to replace consumption with a sense of sacrifice, greed with generosity and wastefulness with a spirit of sharing.

"[44] The three bishops of Northern and Central California, Stephen Blaire, Armando Xavier Ochoa, and Jaime Soto, issued a joint statement that highlighted how climate change disproportionately affects the poor.

[47][48]Vaticanologist John L. Allen Jr., said in an analysis, "Laudato si' seems destined to go down as a major turning point, the moment when environmentalism claimed pride of place on a par with the dignity of human life and economic justice as a cornerstone of Catholic social teaching.

We believe in the autonomy of science.Three days before the encyclical was released, the 14th Dalai Lama issued a Twitter message stating: "Since climate change and the global economy now affect us all, we have to develop a sense of the oneness of humanity.

[41][54] Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general and current chair of the Africa Progress Panel, also issued a statement in support of the encyclical, stating "As Pope Francis reaffirms, climate change is an all-encompassing threat.

[41] Science historian Naomi Oreskes observes that Laudato si' "insists we embrace the moral dimensions of problems that have heretofore been viewed primarily as scientific, technological, and economic.

[59] Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, the founding director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and chair of the German Advisory Council on Global Change, who advised the Vatican on the drafting of the encyclical, said that "the science of Laudato si' is watertight" and gave the pontiff an "A" for command of the subject.

The Pope's letter adds an important facet to the discussion: it is not merely conceivable to secure a sound future for human civilization without relying on coal, oil and gas – it is a prerequisite.

Daly even believes that the Pope "skates fairly close to the idea of steady-state economics," although the important issues of population stabilization, responsible family planning and contraception were "conspicuously near-absent" in the encyclical.

"[51] Nonetheless, she added, "Pope Francis's tone, his honesty, how he talks about mercy and care for the poor, and his genuine desire to be a bridge," could influence political culture in Washington.

"[51] Cornell anthropologists Annelise Riles and Vincent Ialenti told NPR.org: "We find Laudato si' important because it defies the United States' political imagination at every turn.

"[63] The New York Times reported that the encyclical put pressure on Catholics seeking the Republican Party nomination for president of the United States in 2016, including Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Rick Santorum, who "have questioned or denied the established science of human-caused climate change, and have harshly criticized policies designed to tax or regulate the burning of fossil fuels.

Basil of Caesarea, who called money "the devil's dung", has railed against the "anonymous influences of mammon" and a "new colonialism" that includes "free trade treaties... [and] imposition of austerity," and stated a preference for "cooperatives".

Throw in Francis' views that we are witnessing "a disturbing warming of the climatic system... due to the great concentration of greenhouse gasses," and that "there is an urgent need of a true world political authority," and you have positions that it will take more than a spoonful of the Pontiff's charm to make go down the throats of many Americans.

[68] In June 2019, in a meeting at the Vatican which climatologist Hans Joachim Schellnhuber described as one of the most significant of his 30-year career, Francis "convinced big oil CEOs to alter their message on climate change."

These included CEOs of ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and Chevron who pledged to avert what Francis called "a climate emergency" that risks "perpetrating a brutal act of injustice towards the poor and future generations."

Frances states that: Eight years have passed since I published the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si', when I wanted to share with all of you, my brothers and sisters of our suffering planet, my heartfelt concerns about the care of our common home.

(LD 2)The Pope develops his thinking on the "technocratic paradigm",[84] and aims to clarify and bring to completion his ideas on integral ecology, while at the same time sounding an alarm, and a call for co-responsibility, in the face of the climate emergency.

Journalists Jason Horowitz and Elisabetta Povoledo stated that "eight years after his landmark letter on humanity's obligation to protect the environment, Francis warns that there is still a lot to be done, and quickly.