June 5 is celebrated as World Environment Day, with a special focus on climate change. In this context, Pope Francis of blessed memory left us the legacy of the encyclical Laudato Si’, published on May 24, 2015, on the care of our “Common Home.” It is the first papal document entirely dedicated to the environmental crisis and sustainable development. The Pope highlights the urgency of protecting our common home by bringing together “the whole human family in the pursuit of a sustainable and integral development” (LS 13). Inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi, presented as a model of harmonious relationship with nature (LS 1), as expressed in the Canticle of the Creatures.

The first chapter of Genesis opens Sacred Scripture by showing that everything that exists was created by God and that all creation is good and perfect. The biblical text repeatedly states: “And God saw that it was good” (Gn 1). Humanity is the crown of creation, made in the image and likeness of God and integrated into nature (Gn 1:26–31). God entrusts human beings with the mission to “have dominion over the earth and the animals” (Gn 1:26), not as permission for destructive exploitation, but as a responsibility to work, cultivate, and care for creation, participating in God’s creative work (LS 232).

God placed humanity in the garden “to cultivate it and keep it” (Gn 2:15). Creation is presented as a true paradise, destined for fullness of life. The condition for this harmony was to walk with God, following His plan of fraternity and care for life. However, “never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last two centuries. Yet we are called to become instruments of God the Father” (LS 53).

Nevertheless, when the man and the woman ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gn 3:1–24), humanity broke the original harmony and began to use the goods of creation in a selfish and destructive way. The garden was given to humanity to be enjoyed responsibly, within an order founded on justice, solidarity, and the common good (Gn 2:17). Disobedience symbolizes the establishment of a destructive system that breaks fraternity and generates death, conflict, and devastation.

The Church recognizes the duty and necessity of caring for our common home and protecting humanity from self-destruction (LS 79). In this regard, several Fraternity Campaigns have been promoted with an ecological focus. The most recent was held in 2025 with the theme “Fraternity and Integral Ecology” and the motto “God saw that everything was very good” (Gn 1:31), reaffirming the ethical and theological principles of Laudato Si’ and encouraging ecological conversion. As Pope Francis reminds us, “it is a noble task to care for creation through little daily actions” (LS 211), promoting an education capable of gradually transforming lifestyles.

As Christians, we are called to care for and protect our common home, safeguarding creation and cultivating a harmonious relationship with nature and with God, the Creator of life, who made everything very good (cf. LS 64). Therefore, to combat climate change it is necessary to reduce consumption; advocate for improvements in cities that promote well-being, health, and environmental care; raise ecological awareness about issues such as the greenhouse effect and climate change; reduce energy consumption; plant trees in gardens, parks, and deforested areas; separate and recycle waste; and adopt other sustainable practices. Through small daily actions, we can achieve great transformations for the benefit of our common home.