From the 1st to 3rd October 2025 in Castel Gandolfo, with the presence of Pope Leo XIV, the Raising Hope for Climate Justice conference marked the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si', bringing together leaders from the Catholic Church, other religions, science and civil society to transform ecological urgency into active hope. In an atmosphere of prayer, dialogue and commitment, it was emphasized that the care of creation is inseparable from the dignity of peoples and from peace.
In his speech, Pope Leo emphasized the "heart" as a place of decisions and conversion: "We need to move from collecting data to caring; from environmentalist discourses to an ecological conversion that transforms personal and community lifestyles." He urged not to reduce Laudato Si' to a "passing fad", but to support processes that integrate faith, justice and care for the vulnerable. "I therefore renew a strong appeal for unity around integral ecology and for peace!" And he left a demanding question: "God will ask us if we have cultivated and cared for this world that he created (cf. Gen 2:15), for the benefit of all and of future generations, and if we have taken care of our brothers and sisters (cf. Gen 4:9; Jn 13:34). So, what shall we answer?"
Cardinal Jaime Spengler, president of CELAM, linked climate justice and human dignity: "In the face of the cry of the peripheries, the forgotten and the groaning of the Earth, mercy is a cry for justice. God does not abandon His people. The Church will not be silent!" He recalled that indigenous peoples embody a decisive wisdom for preserving ecosystems and invited learning from their harmony with nature.
Tomás Insua, president of the Laudato Si' Center in Assisi, invited us to look at the present in the light of the Canticle of the Creatures, 800 years after its composition, and to recognize how the encyclical has "reshaped" Catholic ecological commitment, from grassroots communities to institutions, opening paths of lasting collaboration between the Church, civil society and public officials.
The panels brought together diverse voices—youth, indigenous peoples, scientists, bishops, and activists—to articulate concrete commitments. The day ended with a symbolic gesture: water from the Greenland ice block, blessed by the Pope at the beginning, was collected by the participants as a sign of shared mission that will travel to COP30 in Bethlehem.
Raising Hope reminded us that praise and care go hand in hand: with God, with others, with nature, and with oneself. Fraternity is realized in courageous decisions, political and communal, that protect the most vulnerable and the common home. Following the Pope's appeal, let us raise hope and persevere together in ecological conversion, in prayer and daily commitment.
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