"Accompanying on its own is not enough. It is not enough to offer someone a sandwich unless it is accompanied by the possibility of learning how to stand on one’s own two feet. Charity that leaves the poor person as he is, is not sufficient. True mercy, the mercy God gives to us and teaches us, demands justice, it demands that the poor find the way to be poor no longer. It asks us, the Church, to ensure that no one ever again stand in need of a soup-kitchen, of makeshiftlodgings, of a service of legal assistance in order to have his legitimate right recognized to live and to work, to be fully a person." -- Pope Francis, Sept. 10, 2013

On Care for Our Common Home (Laudato Si') is the new appeal from Pope Francis addressed to "every person living on this planet" for an inclusive dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. Pope Francis calls the Church and the world to acknowledge the urgency of our environmental challenges and to join him in embarking on a new path. This encyclical is written with both hope and resolve, looking to our common future with candor and humility.

You can read the encyclical here.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has unveiled a new project to help Catholics respond to Jesus' call in Matthew's gospel to be "salt of the earth" and "light of the world." Learn more here.