Contact: Kevin Wandra, 404-788-1276

SAN FRANCISCO, June 18, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- Pope Francis' controversial encyclical, Laudato Si' (Praise Be to You), has finally arrived, and a vast number of pundits and journalist throughout the world have been dissecting the letter. Ignatius Press, one of the largest religious publishers in the country, the primary English-language publisher of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's writings and the publisher of Catholic World Report, has released a video that provides expert analysis of Laudato Si' from Ignatius Press president Mark Brumley; Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., founder of Ignatius Press and, like Francis, a Jesuit priest; editor Vivian Dudro; and John Herreid: youtu.be/CrXHPSiHztQ.

"Because of [Pope Francis'] love of the poor, he wants to write about the environment, and his teaching is related to theology, to doctrine, in so far as we have an obligation to the poorest and the weakest, which is why he also mentions the unborn and the elderly. It's a global view that we have to help those who are most in need," said Fessio in the video.

"Generally, you think of the Catholic Church as very conservative and greens as very liberal and for progress," added Fessio. "But, in fact, the idea of preserving nature and sustainable agriculture is very conservative. What the pope has done [in this encyclical] is kind of unite Catholic conservatism with apparent liberalism on the part of the ambient culture to say, 'Don't we all want to preserve the beauty and goodness of what's there and pass it on to others?'"

Ignatius Press' will release a hardcover edition of Francis' encyclical that can be pre-ordered now: www.ignatius.com/Products/PBTY-H/praise-be-to-you--laudato-si.aspx. You can download a high-res image of the cover here.

For more information, or to schedule an interview with Fr. Joseph Fessio or Mark Brumley, please contact Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276 or KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com) of Carmel Communications.