Home Christian News A New Film by Emmy-Winning Director Centers on Pope’s Vision for Environment

A New Film by Emmy-Winning Director Centers on Pope’s Vision for Environment

The movie also shows the work of the young climate activist Ridhima Pandey from India, as well as the work of husband and wife Greg Asner and Robin Martin to protect the coral reefs and marine biology. Arouna Kande highlights the devastating effects of climate change in his home country of Senegal, while Preacher of the Papal Household Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, who has served in that role since the papacy of John Paul II, details the commitment of the Vatican to protecting creation.

“The essence of this film is to bring Laudato Sì, this wonderful book, to new audiences,” Lorna Gold, president of the Laudato Sì Movement, a network of over 900 Catholic organizations acting and lobbying for the environment, said at the press conference.

The film tells the “story about dialogue between different voices coming together for our common home,” she said, adding that, while the world is in deep crisis, she believes “the message of the film that resonates so strongly is that there is hope.”

RELATED: How Many Must Die? Pope Blasts Russia War, Appeals for Peace

Gold said the movie will be available for community streaming at schools and parishes where she hopes people will engage in the same dialogue that occurs in the film. She said that while the question of climate change is often unheard among political and religious leaders, “change is coming from the grassroots,” with lay people and religious sisters leading the charge.

Speaking at the press conference, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Chair Hoesung Lee praised the movie as a symbol of the “dialogue between faith and science” and urged the two to come together to find solutions, as “the stakes have never been higher.”

Listing the “new normal” of heatwaves, hurricanes, droughts and floods that occur all over the planet, Czerny said the movie provides “a pathway” for encounter and dialogue among people.

“This beautiful film — a heartbreaking yet hopeful story — is a clarion cry to people everywhere: Wake up! Get serious! Meet! Act together! Act now!” he said.

This article originally appeared here.