Post-COVID green and creative, look to young - pope

(ANSA) - VATICAN CITY, SEP 4 - Pope Francis sent a message to the opening day of the Forum Ambrosetti at Villa d'Este at Cernobbio Friday calling for an ecological conversion of the world economy, by creating new and original paths for the common good, and investing in new generations which will be the protagonists of tomorrow's economy.
    Francis urged leaders not to give in to "an acceleration of time, of human and technological processes, and to return to relations lived and not consumed".
    A more social and more human model of development was needed, the pope said, in order to change mentalities.
    There are few guests at Cernobbio this year.
    This year's edition will be very virtual because of the coronavirus emergency.
    On Thursday the pope said on the fifth anniversary of his landmark ecological encyclical Laudato Si' that "there will be no new relationship with nature without a new human being, and it is by healing the human heart that one can hope to heal the world from its social and environmental unrest." These were Francis' prepared remarks to ecological experts gathered on Thursday, who are collaborating with the Bishops of France on the theme of Laudato Si'.
    The Pope emphasized that we are all part of a single human family, living in a common home which is experiencing "disturbing degradation." In off the cuff remarks to the group, he said, "one thing about ecological conversion is that it makes us see the general harmony, the correlation of everything: everything is connected, everything is related.
    Pope Francis also noted that "when a people loses the sense of its roots, it loses its identity. But no! We are modern. Let's go and think about our grandparents, our great-grandparents... But there is another thing that is history: there is belonging to a tradition, to a humanity, to a way of life... That is why it is very important today to take care of this, to take care of the roots of where we belong, so that the fruits are good." In his scripted words, he pointed out that at the present time, "the health crisis that humanity is currently experiencing reminds us of our fragility. We understand to what extent we are linked to one another, part of a world we share, and that mistreating it can only have serious consequences, not only environmental, but also social and human." Laudato si' (English: Praise Be to You!) is the second encyclical of Pope Francis. The encyclical has the subtitle "on care for our common home".
    In it, the pope critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take "swift and unified global action." (ANSA).