May 28, 2023

“Laudato Si'” a Canticle the Pope Takes Figuratively? I Doubt That

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The below are two paragraphs from an article linked to from the Drudge Report. Unless you are completely blinded by the powers that control the world, the words in these two paragraphs set the stage for some real comedy.

St. Francis of Assisi’s hymn Laudato Si’ spoke of “Brothers” Sun and Fire and “Sisters” Moon and Water, using these colorful phrases figuratively, as a way of praising God’s creation. These sentimental words so touched Pope Francis that he named his encyclical after this canticle (repeated in paragraph 87 of the Holy Father’s letter).

Neither Pope Francis nor St. Francis took the words literally, of course. Neither believed that fire was alive and could be talked to or reasoned with or, worse, worshiped. Strange, then, that a self-professed atheist and scientific advisor to the Vatican named Hans Schellnhuber appears to believe in a Mother Earth.

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