Assembled in the UN headquarters in New York for the largest assembly of national representatives ever gathered in one place, Pope Francis appealed to the assemblies to move forward. The national representatives each received a copy of ‘Laudato Si’, the legally-binding document of the Catholic church’s canon law. In the document it stresses the need “to think of one world with a common plan”, where it states that the need for the management of “the global economy… there is urgent need of a true world political authority”. “Enforceable international agreements are urgently needed” Francis wrote in the encyclical.

The Pope appealed to “rights” which must be “forcefully affirmed”, referencing “the codification and development of international law”, and “reaffirming the importance which the Catholic Church attaches to this Institution and the hope which she places in its activities”, citing the church’s desire for a “political response” which serves “to overcome all natural limits to the exercise of power.” He stated that “the defence of the environment and the fight against exclusion demand that we recognize a moral law written into human nature itself”, which of course, would be Catholic canon law.

In ‘Laudati Si’’, it states that “the biblical tradition clearly shows that this renewal entails recovering and respecting the rhythms inscribed in nature …in the law of the Sabbath.” “Sunday… is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world”, stating that this day “motivates us to greater concern for nature and the poor.” He concluded his appeal in his voice to the nations, by stating that the nations “cannot permit” for the postponement of “certain agendas” for the future. “The future demands of us critical and global decisions…”