Vatican releases document on integral ecology within the family

Vatican News

The Vatican has published a document focused on living the care for creation and for human life within the family, entitled “Integral Ecology in the Life of the Family.”

Released on Monday, the text is intended to be a response to Pope Francis' and Pope Leo XIV’s appeals to listen to the cry of the poor and of the Earth and offer a concrete response, according to a press release presenting the initiative.

The document draws from the principles of the post-synodal Exhortation Amoris Laetitia and the teachings of the Encyclical Laudato si’.

The text is the result of the joint efforts of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, and was developed with the direct involvement of theologians, consultants, and married couples.

Families are the soil from which society grows

“Family values are the fruitful soil from which all of society grows. In order to care properly for our common home and for all people, families must be the model,” wrote the Prefects of the two Dicasteries, Cardinal Michael Czerny and Cardinal Kevin Farrell. 

“Many families are attentive in caring for our common home and caring for others, their minds set on the hope that is Jesus Christ. The values of the family are consistent and fundamental to the care of our common home and of our neighbors,” they continued.

“What are the values of the family? Members of the family learn selflessness, patience and dedication, openness and protection of life, so that they can flourish, complementarity and reciprocity, intergenerational connections and solidarity with other families, and the transmission of knowledge and traditions.”

Guidelines and suggestions

The document offers guidelines to families, Church groups, and individuals to help them address the current environmental challenges and to promote the integral development of every person.

The first part of the text presents fundamental concepts based on Pope Francis’ most significant writings, while the second part—the heart of the volume—contains thematic chapters that reflect seven objectives from Laudato si'.

These include: listening to the cry of the earth, listening to the cry of the poor and the vulnerable, adopting and promoting ecological economics, adopting ecological lifestyles, integral ecology and education, ecological spirituality in the family, and families participating in community life.

Each chapter is divided into four sections: an explanation of the topic, implications of the topic, questions for reflection and discussion, and a list of proposed actions.

The press release notes that although the document is dedicated to families, it can be useful to all, as care for creation and the promotion of human dignity are topics that affect everyone.  

Families, it says, as the constitutive element of society, can become the motor of this profound cultural change.

“Integral Ecology in the Life of the Family” is available for free in 5 languages on the official websites of both Dicasteries.