"I am writing a second part of 'Laudato si', to update the current problems". These were the words of Pope Francis during an audience with a delegation of lawyers from Council of Europe member countries that are signatories to the Vienna Appeal, referring to his 2015 encyclical dedicated to ecology and environmental protection. "I am sensitive," the Pontiff added, addressing the lawyers, "to the care you give to the common home and to your commitment to participate in the elaboration of a normative framework in favor of environmental protection. We must never forget that the younger generations have the right to receive from us a beautiful and livable world, and that this invests us with serious duties towards creation that we have received from the generous hands of God. Thank you for this contribution". "I also want to thank you for the important contribution you make to the promotion of democracy and respect for freedom and human dignity," continued Pope Bergoglio. "Times of social, economic, identity and security crises challenge Western democracies to respond effectively to them, while remaining faithful to their principles, which are to be continually regained and whose defense requires great vigilance. Fear of unrest and violence, the prospect of upheavals in established balances, and the need to act effectively in the face of emergencies can lead into the temptation to make exceptions, to limit, at least temporarily, the rule of law in the search for easy and immediate solutions".
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