Cry of a Planet in Crisis

Our world, particularly India, is in the grip of a severe environmental crisis. Many parts of the country are in the midst of an unprecedented heat wave with several casualties, especially among the poor and marginalised sections of society. The devastating unseasonal storm which tore through Uttar Pradesh on 13 and 14 May, killed at least 120 people and injured several more. Cyclone-like winds gusting up to 130 km/hr caused widespread destruction, damaging hundreds of homes across the state. On the other hand, the Aravalli hills continue to be pillaged despite the Supreme Court's order halting all mining activity in the area.

As we observe yet another 'World Environment Day', we, particularly as religious, are called to reflect on the state of our environment and what we should be doing about it.

On 5 June, one will surely witness a flurry of 'activities'. There will be the usual jostle to plant saplings, a plethora of long, boring speeches on the importance of the environment repeated 'ad nauseam' and plenty of photo-ops with faces beaming towards the cameras. The newspapers will be full of advertisements about the environment, with several of them sponsored by government agencies, the very ones responsible for destroying the environment and our fragile biodiversity. There will be plenty of 'tokenism' and 'cosmetic' action – most of which will soon be forgotten.  

Trees are necessary, but is there someone who will nurture the saplings and ensure their growth? Public awareness of the importance of the environment is a prerequisite, but then words ring hollow when the ones who wax eloquent are the very ones who are in nexus with the land mafia who dry up our water bodies for their high-rise buildings and who cohort with the mining mafia to plunder our precious natural resources.

It is important to note that in the most recent Environmental Performance Index (EPI), India ranks 176 out of 180 countries. A pathetic indicator by any standards on the environmental situation in our country.

Interestingly, the theme for World Environment Day 2026 is “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future”. This obviously is a follow-up of the UN Climate Summit COP30 which took place in Belém, Brazil, from 10 to 21 November 2025. COP30 focussed heavily on forest conservation and the implementation of the Paris Agreement Goals. However, from what is happening in the world today, few world leaders exhibit the political will to address the environmental crisis seriously.

India has certainly not demonstrated a commitment to the environment. What is happening in Car Nicobar is patently a recipe for ecological disaster. The Adani-initiated, 'The Great Nicobar Infrastructure Project' is designed to clear 130 sq.kms. of pristine, primary tropical rainforests, which threatens the unique, endemic biodiversity of the region. Besides, it will displace indigenous tribes like the Shompen and Nicobarese, which is a gross violation of human rights.

Needless to say, the construction of a mega trans-shipment port and international airport will directly impact the critical nesting grounds of endangered species like the Giant Leatherback Turtle and the Nicobar Megapode. Further, being a remote oceanic island, Car Nicobar experiences highly elevated levels of marine debris with large volumes of floating plastics, nets and ropes, which severely degrade the local ecosystems and marine life.

Eleven years ago, on 24 May 2015, Pope Francis gave to the world his path-breaking and incisive Encyclical, ‘Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home.  It was the first major Papal teaching on a subject of critical importance, namely, ‘the environment’.  ‘Laudato Si’ meaning 'Praise be to you' are the first words of the celebrated ‘Canticle of the Creatures’ of St Francis of Assisi. The Encyclical, which came months before the landmark 2015 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 21) held in Paris, in fact, set the tone for world leaders to come to grips with causes responsible for environmental degradation and which ultimately caused climatic changes with disastrous results everywhere. Those who take the Encyclical seriously are aware of its significance in addressing key issues which destroy the environment today.

Pope Francis sets the tone of the Encyclical in his opening statement, which is “to address every person living on this planet”. He says, “this sister (mother earth) now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her.  We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life”.

Pope Francis strongly notes that, “the earth’s resources are also being plundered because of short-sighted approaches to the economy, commerce and production.” In making such statements, in taking a stand for the ‘care of our common home’, Pope Francis has indeed created several enemies among the rich and powerful who are bent on profiteering; those engaged in the extractive industry by plundering precious and scarce natural resources. Pope Francis was consistent in his love for the poor and his commitment to the protection of the environment. Throughout the Encyclical, he insists that we have been called to be stewards of the creation which God has entrusted to us. 

He ensures that ‘Laudato Si’ focuses on human rights violations and injustices. He does not mince words when he says, “in the present condition of global society, where injustices abound and growing numbers of people are deprived of basic human rights and considered expendable, committing oneself to the common good means to make choices in solidarity based on a preferential option for the poorest of our brothers and sisters".

What is paramount in the final analysis, says Pope Francis, is a radical commitment to ensure positive change, which is the need of the hour. For this, he says, every section of society must play a definite role in a collaborative and concerted manner. The Pope does not spare the priests (and religious) of the Catholic Church, and he calls upon them to engage with the faithful on environmental issues.

‘Laudato Si’ does make one uncomfortable. Therefore, there is always the danger that many would like to cosmeticise this powerful document: to tinker with bits and parts; to be selective and comfortable in its reading; to do non-threatening acts like growing trees, propagating alternative technologies, not using plastics; to indulge in acts of tokenism like project work. Whilst all these acts are surely good and could lead to something more sustainable, ‘Laudato Si’ is path-breaking and radical in nature. It shakes one out of one’s complacency by touching every single dimension of our human existence. We were all invited to an ecological conversion, to change directions so that we can truly care for our common home. Not to pay heed to Pope Francis’ prophetic words, to rubbish this timely and important message or to relegate it to mere tree-planting and other ‘feel-good’ acts would certainly be a great disservice to Planet Earth!

As a sequel to this Encyclical, on 4 October 2023, Pope Francis gave us his Apostolic Exhortation, 'Laudate Deum' (Praise God for all his creatures). He begins this Exhortation with facts. The climate’s current situation is volatile and headed toward catastrophe, and Laudate Deum clearly identifies this reality. He asserts, “Our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point.” He points to overwhelming scientific evidence that climate change is the result of human activity and describes how the last 200 years of pollution and extraction have led the world to this crisis point. The disastrous situation is already apparent in deadly natural disasters, collapsing ecosystems, and rising temperatures worldwide. Still, many continue to deny the climate crisis or look the other way in favour of profit and productivity. In the face of that neglect, Pope Francis called on all to remember the connectedness of everything and that it is the responsibility of everyone to care for our common home.

In the concluding section of Laudate Deum, he offers the image of a community on pilgrimage, united by God to each other and to all of creation; we walk a journey of conversion that turns from the sinful degradation of the earth towards faithfulness to God, the creator of all things. A Christian response to the climate crisis is not merely about recycling or using an electric vehicle. It is much more. In Laudate Deum, he insists that wealthy countries, and even countries like India, are obliged to renounce the plundering of natural resources and of overconsumption. 

In this Exhortation, Pope Francis invited the whole church to a renewed vision of community and solidarity where Catholics should be willing to stand alongside their poor, excluded and exploited brothers and sisters as prophets of a better world. We are called to collaborate with Christ’s liberating grace, active in the world, alive in our hearts, our communities, and our Earth.

Ever since Pope Leo XIV inherited the mantle of Pope Francis, he has continued his predecessor's legacy and consistently spoken about the need and importance of caring for our common home. In a message to French guides and scouts participating in a rally on 24 July 2025, Pope Leo said, "In the face of pollution and climate change, the loss of biodiversity, the deterioration of life and social degradation, global inequalities, the lack of drinking water and access to energy for many populations, ecological education is essential for everyone to reverse the order of things".

As religious, there is perhaps not a single Chapter in recent times, when we have not taken great pains to demonstrate our concern for the environment. We are all aware that we find it very comfortable to say things on paper and preserve them as a valuable document, but in reality, it is completely different. We indulge in plenty of lip service but do not have the prophetic courage to emulate the patron of the environment, St Francis of Assisi, particularly in leading a life that is frugal and in consonance with the lives of the vast majority of our people.

In the context and mandate of ‘Laudato Si’ and 'Laudate Deum', it is important for us as religious, to reflect and do some serious soul-searching and respond urgently, both individually and collectively, to some key questions:

• Have we internalised the Church's teaching on the environment and made it our own?
• Are we proactive in communicating to others the Church's stand regarding the environment?
• Are we committed enough as a congregation to put into practice what our Chapter/s mandated we should do for the environment?
• Are we truly concerned about the ‘jal, jungle aur jameen’ of the adivasis? Do we take a stand against the Government and the powerful who are trying to deprive them of the forest lands? Do we truly identify with them and accompany them in their struggles? (Remember late Fr Stan Swamy)
• Do we identify/collaborate with important movements like the National Alliance of Peoples Movement (NAPM), the National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ) and/or with other environmental groups in the country? 
• Do we have the courage to be visible and vocal in taking on the powerful vested interests, be it the Government or even some of our ‘benefactors’ who have no qualms in destroying the environment? 

Not being able to say an unequivocal ‘yes’ to any of the above is a clear indicator that we have not (individually and collectively), as religious, mainstreamed the spirit, the mandate and the directives of the Church's teaching on the environment; in short, we are betraying it (Pope Francis spoke about ‘ecological sins’).

In ‘Laudato Si’, Pope Francis asks an uncomfortable question: “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” If we are serious, as religious, about ensuring ‘Only One Earth’, then we need to answer this question honestly and act responsibly now. Our future, the future of the earth: our common home, is in our hands.

(Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights reconciliation and peace activist and writer. Contact: cedricprakash@gmail.com)

Blurbs

Looking at what is happening in the world today, we realize that few world leaders exhibit the political will to address the environmental crisis seriously.

“This sister (mother earth) cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her” – Pope Francis

We find it very comfortable to say things on paper and preserve them as a valuable document, but in reality, it is completely different.