Pope Francis called for “a covenant between human beings and the environment” in his statement for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.

The World Day of Prayer—an ecumenical project, originally conceived by Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople—will be observed September 1, with a campaign continuing through October 4. Pope Francis lauded the project as “a special time for all Christians to pray and work together to care for our common home.”

The Pope said that “we can hear in the voice of creation a kind of dissonance. On the one hand, we can hear a sweet song in praise of our beloved Creator; on the other, an anguished plea, lamenting our mistreatment of this our common home.”