In a particularly striking passage from Laudato Si’, Francis wrote:
It is not enough, however, to think of different species merely as potential “resources” to be exploited, while overlooking the fact that they have value in themselves. Each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal species which we will never know, which our children will never see, because they have been lost for ever. The great majority become extinct for reasons related to human activity. Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right.1
May Francis, who sought to remind us humans that we are not the only ones praising God, know more fully in his risen life the glory given to God by the many creatures with whom we share the universe.
1Laudato Si’ 33