Pope Francis’ first encyclical is focused on the idea of ‘integral ecology’, connecting care of the

 

natural world with justice for the poorest and most vulnerable people. Only by radically reshaping our

 

relationships with God, with our neighbours and with the natural world, he says, can we hope to

 

tackle the threats facing our planet today. Science, he insists, is the best tool by which we can listen

 

to the cry of the earth, while dialogue and education are the two keys that can “help us to escape

 

the spiral of self-destruction which currently engulfs us”.

 

At the heart of the Pope’s reflections is the question: “What kind of world do we want to leave to

 

those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?”. The answers he suggests call for

 

profound changes to political, economic, cultural and social systems, as well as to our individual

 

lifestyles.