Over the past 25 years, the Church has been developing its position on “the ecological crisis.” In anticipation of Pope Francis’ upcoming encyclical on climate change/ecology, here are the major magisterial statements.

Pope Francis has called bishops from around the world to Rome for two meetings, in October 2014 and October 2015, to talk about pastoral challenges to Catholic families. Discussions included hot button issues such as contraception, same-sex marriage and divorce. The first meeting, called an Extraordinary Synod, was attended by 190 bishops and 38 lay experts. After ten days of spirited discussion, the agenda was set for the second meeting, an Ordinary Synod, which will involve about 250 bishops and will last for three weeks.

From the 1870’s until the 1990s, the Canadian government, in partnership with a number of Christian churches, operated a residential school system for more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children. These government-funded schools were set up forcibly to assimilate aboriginal children into the Canadian mainstream.