LAUSR

In June 2015, Pope Francis released the encyclical Laudato Si’, one of the most significant statements on human-environment relationships ever made within the Catholic Church. The document condemns ever-increasing processes of environmental degradation, especially climate change, and blames a techno-economic ideology of individualistic mass consumerism as the central driver of contemporary ecological ills. Calling the world “a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness and praise,” he urges all to share “a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet” while rejecting obstructionism caused by outright denial as well as “indifference, nonchalant resignation or blind confidence in technical solutions.” To communicate this message with the vast swaths of Catholics who remain unaware of Francis’s environmental teaching, the Vatican Media partnered with the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network to produce a short video titled Care for Creation, which was meant for an audience otherwise unlikely to engage formal papal teaching. Care for Creation begins with gorgeous, vibrant shots from four vastly different places—a forest, a mountain ridgeline, a school of fish, and sprouts first breaking through rich soil—that together show the beauty of the world that is currently under threat (figure 1). As warm,