About the Author

Marybeth Lorbiecki, M.A., is Director of the Interfaith Ocean Ethics Campaign, a joint program of the National Religious Coalition on Creation Care (NRCCC) and the Franciscan Action Network. The Vatican Office of Peace and Justice has sought her out for consultation on her compilation of Pope John Paul II’s ecological teachings, the only collection they know to exist. She is a former adjunct university professor, and author of the award-winning biography of the conservationistAldo Leopold, A Fierce Green Fire, as well as numerous children’s books.  

Bill McKibben is the author of a dozen bestselling books about the environment, beginning with The End of Nature in 1989, which is regarded as the first book for a general audience on climate change. He is a founder of the grassroots climate campaign 350.org, and was awarded the Steward of God's Creation Award by the NRCCC in 2013. Time magazine called him “the planet's best green journalist.” A Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College, he holds honorary degrees from a dozen universities, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Reviews

"During his papacy, Pope John Paul II was an unexpected environmental advocate. Marybeth Lorbiecki’s compilation of sections of his hundreds of speeches, sermons, and encyclicals in her book Following St. Francis, shows how John Paul II connected care of the environment with a just human society. This easily accessible book examines spiritual, moral, social, and economical topics for Catholics and non-Catholics alike" -US Catholic Magazine

"Engaging . . . Some of the world's poorest people are currently on the front lines of climate change. Marybeth Lorbiecki makes us aware that Pope John Paul II and our new Vatican leadership views this threat as a great moral and spiritual issue of our day, impacting all of God's creation." -Rabbi Warren G. Stone, National Religious Coalition on Creation Care