Pope Leo XIV used a newly added formulary of the Mass, “For the Care of Creation,” when celebrating Mass at the papal villa on July 9.  This formulary selects prayers and readings that affirm the place of God’s creation in worship.  In his homily, Pope Leo stated that people today find themselves filled with fear “in a burning world, be it because of global warming or armed conflicts.” He went on to say that the mission of safeguarding creation, of bringing peace and reconciliation, is the mission which the Lord has entrusted to us--to listen to the cry of the earth, the cry of the poor, because this cry has reached the heart of God.  He added that the church must speak prophetically before the climate crisis “even when it requires the boldness to oppose the destructive power of the ‘princes’ of this world” and went on to quote at length from Laudato Si, Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment.  Pope Leo directed us “to pray for the conversion of many people, inside and outside of the church, who still do not recognize the urgency of caring for our common home.”