Miguel Oliveira Panão's article, a university professor, analyses the evolution of papal messages on the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, celebrated on September 1st. The author starts from the 2015 encyclical Laudato Si' to explore the path from ecological conversion to peace of the heart, identifying a guiding thread that moves from the language of protection to the language of communion.
Panão highlights that responsibility for concrete behaviors toward creation has three dimensions: social, economic, and political. In 2023, Pope Francis proposed the transformation of hearts, lifestyles, and public policies as a necessary response. This approach involves three scales of conversion: that of interiority, that of daily life, and that of structures.
The article traces the evolution of papal messages since 2015, highlighting milestones such as the need for self-examination in 2016, simplicity and solidarity in 2017, the recognition of the web of relationships during the pandemic in 2019-2020, and in 2026, the awareness that the wounds of the Earth and of humanity reflect the wounds of the heart.
The author cites Thomas Berry and his assertion that the universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects, as well as Nan Shepherd, to argue that the transformation of the heart requires that we allow ourselves to be transformed in relationship with each element of the natural world. Panão concludes that the world continues to seek balance, but it is we who may not be adapted, and the result manifests itself in
