Pope Francis was inspired by many scientists, intellectuals, and philosophers whose work focuses on sustainability in every sense of the word. One of these was Carlo Petrini, founder of the worldwide slow food movement and the inspiration behind the Terra Madre network of food communities. Through a series of conversations, a deep friendship between Pope Francis and Petrini was born—in the words of Pope Francis, a friendship between the head of the Catholic Church and a “pious agnostic.

In Pope Francis’s second encyclical, Laudato si’ (Praise Be to You), he gave the world his extraordinary vision of social justice, founded on respect for every living being and framed in terms of justice-driven economies that would not worsen environmental decline, poverty, and individual exclusion from society. Pope Francis asked Petrini to be his guide in the research and reading of material in preparation for the encyclical. Their work proved substantive and collaborative, and their relationship stood as a timely statement about the need to remove the wall that often divides believers and agnostics and prevents them from sharing ideas.

Future Earth, which was born from this work, delivers three critical dialogues about five core “integral ecology” themes—biodiversity, economy, community, migration, and education. In the eyes of Pope Francis, the discussion, while of broad relevance to all people, communities, and nations, is aimed squarely at younger generations, hopefully empowering them to reflect deeply, begin conversations, and organize pacifist collective activism that looks to new models of coexistence in an environment that is “good, clean, and fair.”