Integral Ecology in the Life of the Family

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life have published “Integral Ecology in the life of the family" a document developed to transmit in the family the care of Creation and of human life.

A joint document with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development

The volume is the fruit of the joint efforts of these two Dicasteries of the Holy See and its preparation has seen the direct involvement also of theologians, consultants, and married couples. The Document was born to respond to the appeals of Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV to listen to the cry of the poor and of the Earth and to offer a concrete response, putting into action the principles of the post-synodal Exhortation Amoris Laetitia and the teachings of the Encyclical Laudato si’.

Families are consistent and fundamental to the care of our common home and of our neighbors

“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, His Eminence Card. Michael Czerny, S.J., and His Eminence Card. 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. 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.”

Useful cues and indications to families, church groups and individual readers

The volume proposes useful cues and indications to families, church groups and individual readers to address current environmental challenges and to promote the integral development of every person. The first part presents fundamental concepts based on the most significant writings of Pope Francis; the second part, the heart of the volume, contains thematic chapters that reflect seven objectives from Laudato si:

• 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

• families participating in community life

Each chapter is in turn divided into four sections: the explanation of the theme, implications of the theme, questions for reflection and discussion, and proposals for several concrete actions.

Families, the motor of a profound cultural change

As the Prefects state, the Document “although dedicated principally to the families, it concerns us all.” In fact, anyone, in their own state of life, can find advice and inspiration to contribute to improving the relationships and the environment, promoting an equitable and sustainable world in which Creation and human dignity are defended and protected. Families, as the constitutive element of society, can become the motor of this profound cultural change.

Care for Creation is also a commitment that expresses our faith, which - as Pope Leo XIV reminded us in his Homily for the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly - “is handed [in the family] on together with life, generation after generation” (1 June 2025).

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