'Laudato Si' for the Green Army

Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae, 2024

Until recently, in the social teaching of the Church, the principle of social justice has been primarily related to poverty, social inequalities, wealth distribution, and goods. Pope Francis extends this understanding to environmental issues. While diagnosing and describing the contemporary ecological crisis (our inability to resolve it in particular), he identifies the same mindset and mechanisms underlying both the social and ecological crises. Therefore, Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato si' is a revolutionary text based on integral ecology that reintroduces justice (similarly to Rerum Novarum over 130 years ago) as the key to addressing a new social issue-the contemporary ecological crisis. The comprehensive perspective on the contemporary global crisis as a socio-ecological crisis, in Laudato si', finds its reference in the developed concept of Environmental Justice as a new type of social justice. The viewpoint of a moral theologian allows us to perceive the duties associated with it not only as a legal obligation (debitum iuridicum) but also more deeply as a moral obligation (debitum morale).

2016

In this paper an attempt has been made to contextualize the ecological dimension of contemporary Catholic social teaching. With this aim in mind, the authors discuss the merits of several theories and approaches (political economy approaches, ecological modernization theory, environmental justice theory, and social constructionism) coming from environmental sociology and other disciplinary traditions in the social sciences. After an analysis of relevant historical documents of Catholic social teaching with respect to the environmental issues covered by them, the authors discuss the main lines of argument present in the recent (2015) encyclical Laudato Si’ (Pope Francis) and interpret them in the aforementioned theoretical framework. In conclusion, the usefulness of Catholic social teaching for the public dialogue between science and other relevant stakeholders, as well as its main strengths and weaknesses have been discussed. Keywords: Catholic social teaching, Laudato Si’, environm...

In this paper an attempt has been made to contextualize ecological dimension of the contemporary Catholic social teaching. With this aim in mind, the authors discuss the merits of several theories and approaches (political economy approaches, ecological modernization theory, environmental justice theory, and social constructionism) coming from environmental sociology and other disciplinary traditions in the social sciences. After an analysis of relevant historical documents of the Catholic social teaching with respect to the environmental issues covered by them, the authors discuss main lines of argument present in the recent (2015) encyclical Laudato Si' (Pope Francis) and interpret them in the aforementioned theoretical framework. In conclusion, the usefulness of the Catholic social teaching for the public dialog between science and other relevant stakeholders, as well as its main strengths and weaknesses have been discussed.

2017

Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae, 2020

This study provides a summary description of the abundant activities of the St. Francis of Assisi Environmental Movement (REFA), which emerged over 30 years ago in the environment of Polish Franciscans and which ever since has been propagating the idea of engaging Christians in environmental protection issues. REFA's motto is "Catholics among ecologists, environmentalists among Catholics." In its activity, REFA has undertaken many different pro-environmental initiatives and implemented many ecological projects, part of which are presented in this study.

Human Ecology Review, 2017

Pope Francis's significant and timely environmental encyclical is reviewed, analyzed, and reflected upon from a human ecology perspective. The analysis includes comparison with various ecological, philosophical, sociological, ethical, theological, and economic schools of thought. His powerful and influential prose and poetry are sampled and savored with respect to their potential impact on solutions for our current grave existential global environmental crisis. His call for an ecological spiritual awakening is interpreted from both religious and secular points of view. Historical relationships between Catholicism and environmental thought are explored. Application to the field of human ecology is considered.

2016

Pope Francis' encyclical letter on care for our common home, has been widely hailed as a groundbreaking document. In the encyclical, Pope Francis urges the Catholic Church, the Christian communities around the world, followers of other religious tradition, and all people of good will, to earnestly begin to care for our common home that is beginning to crumble. One of the significant contributions of the encyclical is Pope Francis' invitation for education towards ecological citizenship. According to the Pope, the care of our imperilled common planetary home calls for a profound change of our lifestyles. He writes: "A great cultur al, spiritual and educational challenge stands be fore us, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renewal". (201) 1 The Pope proposes education towards ecological citizenship to bring about such a renewal and live more responsibly in our common home. In this paper, we shall discuss about education towards ecological citizenship in Laudato Si'. In the encyclical, Pope Francis calls for a rethinking on environmental education to create a new covenant between humanity and the natural world. Ecological education should include a radical critique of the dominant cultural paradigms guiding our contemporary society, namely, rampant individualism and a mechanistic vision of the natural world. We need a holistic education that can re-establish harmony with nature, our fellow human beings and the Transcendent. The Pope also speaks of the variety of settings for ecological education: schools, families, media, catechesis, houses of religious formation, etc. We will conclude with a note on the importance of education for ecological citizenship in this crucial moment of planetary emergency. 1. The challenge of new lifestyles against rampant consumerism Pope Francis states in the encyclical that "the precarious state of our common home requires that we be courageous to choose lifestyles which are "countercultural". 1 The numbers in brackets throughout the paper refer to the paragraph numbers of Pope Francis' Encyclical Letter Laudato Si'.

Chiedza, 2017

Human greed can narrow the way in which humans relate to the natural world of which they are a part. Pope Francis describes nature a s magnificent document in which we red and hear God's infinite beauty and goodness. However, the intemperate quest by humans to use their technological capacity to exploit their environment will commence a spiral of annihilation. In such a context, visionary leaders like Pope Francis have forewarned humanity that global sustainability is a pressing concern for all of us. He invites everyone to substitute collaboration for competition in order to live a synergy with our common home. He invites us to view things holistically in order to create a paradigm of collaboration. The Pope's plea for environmental justice tallies with deep ecology. Recognizing our oneness with nature requires Heidegger's meditative thinking; but calculative thinking furthers environmental corruption. Meditative thinking leads to long-sighted and deeper answers for a sustainable world. The Pope is not against scientific advancement, but he insists that such progress must go hand-in-hand with social and moral progress. Pope Francis' ethics of the universe echoes a phenomenology that eschews the asymmetry of anthropocentrism. How we view our environment has deep implications for leadership.

Ethics in Progress, 2019

Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on care for our common home, invites humanity to cultivate “ecological virtues” in order to become more responsible stewards of our imperilled common home. According to the Pope, the formation of healthy habitus for the stewardship of Earth can be achieved only through the cultivation of appropriate ecological virtues. It may be recalled that there is a growing awareness of the importance of the role of ecological virtues in environmental ethics today. In this paper we shall reflect on seven ecological virtues: praise, gratitude, care, justice, work, sobriety, and humility. They do not receive a separate treatment in Laudato Si’, but are mentioned throughout the encyclical. They are like signposts that indicate the road that we need to travel in caring for our common planetary home.

Pope Francis's 2015 Encyclical "Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home" 1 is a landmark papal document on the environment and social justice. In this work, the Francis issues a bold call for action to address urgent environmental concerns, including climate change, environmental degradation, pollution, and the rapid global collapse of biodiversity. More broadly and deeply, he calls for an "ecological conversion" (217) 2 that entails radical changes in the way people live, view nature, treat the environment, organize social life, and act toward one another. Though written very clearly and engagingly, the document is lengthy (about 80 printed pages) and may be confusing to some not familiar with Catholic social teaching. In this brief paper, I shall try to do three things: (1) explain what's new and important about the document, (2) briefly summarize its principal claims and conclusions, and (3) offer some personal reflections on some of its strengths and weaknesses. What's New and Important about the Encyclical "Laudato Si'" is an encyclical, which is an especially solemn and authoritative form of papal teaching. Most papal encyclicals tend to be focused narrowly on Catholic doctrine, are addressed to the Pope's fellow Bishops or to the Catholic faithful, cite only authoritative Church sources (such as the teachings of Church Councils, prior papal documents, reports of Bishops' conferences, and the views of venerable Catholic theologians), and are not widely read outside of Church circles. "Laudato Si'" is different in all these respects. It is addressed to all of