‘On the care of the common home’, the subtitle of Pope Francis’ new encyclical released on Thursday, continues a tradition of recent Popes who have made it very clear that humanity is largely responsible for the environmental degradation gravely harming our Earth’s ecosystems. According to Pope Francis “Respect for creation, then, is a requirement of our faith: the ‘garden’ in which we live is not entrusted to us to be exploited, but rather to be cultivated and tended with respect.” During the coming year Development and Peace will be launching education and action programs to assist us as concerned Christians in addressing the global environmental challenges before us all.