Pope Francis’ thinking about Creation, expressed in his encyclical on the environment, marks a shift in Catholic theology concerning the natural world and is also a continuation of Francis’ own ideas around the subject of mercy According to the Catechism, “man is the only creature on Earth that God has willed for its own sake”. Already, even after just a few days, Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’ has made that familiar sentiment seem out of date. Laudato si’ is radical not only as social teaching, but as a theology of Creation. Or rather, we should say “Gospel of Creation”, as Francis does: with this phrase alone, he inaugurates a new era in the Catholic Church’s approach to the natural world. The world of animals, forests,