NEW UORK (TIP): Hindus have commended His Holiness Pope Francis for his call to respect and protect environment in his 192-page first Encyclical “Laudato Si (Praise Be): on the Care of our Common Home” released on June 18 in Vatican City.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement from  Nevada (USA) , on June 18, said that it was our moral and spiritual duty to protect the environment and God-given natural world.

Rajan Zed hoped that this Encyclical helped shape the public policy and change in the behavior of the people. Other religious leaders should also come forward to support the cause of environment, he added.

Quoting ancient scriptures, Zed noted: We may believe in different religions, yet we share the same home-our Earth. We must learn to happily progress or miserably perish together. For man can live individually but can only survive collectively.