Bishop Kevin Farrell

The Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas

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Examining Laudato Si’: Agenda for a Generation

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Examining Laudato Si': Agenda for a Generation

 

Laudato Si’ is unique in many ways. It is addressed to “all people of good will” (No. 62) and Pope Francis states that “I would like to enter into dialogue with all people about our common home.” (No. 3) It is also distinguished by the fact that it is intended to provoke both dialogue and action. (No. 16)

Make no mistake about it this encyclical is not about a “quick fix.” (No. 179) Instead, it sets out an agenda for our time here on this planet, observing that the environment “is on loan to each generation, which must then hand it on to the next.” (No. 159)

Setting forth a litany of major ecological problems that need to be dealt with the Pope lists: pollution, climate change, water, loss of biodiversity, decline in the quality of human life, the breakdown of society, and global inequality and comments that, “Our lack of response to these tragedies involving our brothers and sisters points to the loss of that sense of responsibility for our fellow men and women upon which all civil society is founded.” (No. 25)

“As Christians,” the Holy Father reminds us, “we are also called “to accept the world as a sacrament of communion, as a way of sharing with God and our neighbors on a global scale,” recognizing, in the words of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, that we must “look for solutions not only in technology but in a change of humanity; otherwise we would be dealing merely with symptoms.” That will require “replacing consumption with sacrifice, greed with generosity, wastefulness with a spirit of sharing.” (No. 9)

What the Pope is calling for is nothing less than a change in worldview, a monumental task that must begin with each of us who shares in spoiling our common home. We must acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and accept our share of the blame. The structural causes of ecological disintegration must be acknowledged and addressed collaboratively on a global basis. Unfortunately, as Pope Francis observes, “Politics and the economy tend to blame each other when it comes to poverty and environmental degradation. It is to be hoped that they can acknowledge their own mistakes and find forms of interaction directed to the common good. (No. 198)

“There is no one path to a solution.” (No. 60) There is no magic bullet. Through prayer and dialogue we must collectively work toward a comprehensive solution to save our God’s creation, our common home.

Laudato Si’ is not a doomsday proclamation but it sets out an agenda for a generation. As the Holy Father writes in his closing prayer: “May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope.” (No. 244)

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Image credit: Stephanie Sicore on Flickr

Laudato Si’: Pope Francis calls for “global ecological conversion”

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Laudato Si’: Pope Francis calls for "Global ecological conversion"

Pope Francis’ long awaited and much heralded pastoral encyclical, Laudato Si’ was released this morning calling for “global ecological conversion” based on limiting the use of non-renewable resources and re-use and recycling of materials to preserve resources for present and future generations.

While it is a pastoral and not a political document, it nevertheless calls for dialogue on the issues with which it deals; climate change, pollution and the need for a radical change in our relationship with our planet Earth. It is sure to trigger a spirited international response.

Taking its name Laudato Si’ (Praise be to You) from the invocation of St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of Creation, the encyclical, like the canticle, emphasizes that “creation can only be understood as a gift from the outstretched hand of the Father of all, and as a reality illuminated by the love which calls us together into universal communion.” (No. 76)

Referring to the Canticle’s reference to “our Sister, Mother Earth,” the beginning of the encyclical reminds the readers that, “This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life.” (No. 2)

Identifying climate change as “one of the principal problems facing humanity in our day,” the document predicts, “Its worst impact will probably be felt by developing countries in coming decades,” and will be particularly devastating to the poor whose living is often solely dependent upon “natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture, fishing and forestry.”(No. 25)

Pollution of air, water and the environment caused by hundreds of tons of waste generated through the years, much of it non-biodegradable, has, according to the encyclical, caused the earth “to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.”(No. 21) The problem is, “closely linked to a throwaway culture which affects the excluded just as it quickly reduces things to rubbish.”

Laudato Si’ is really an examination of conscience and asks of each of us: “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” (No. 160)

In my opinion the importance of this encyclical as Christian teaching and as a wake up call to the reality of an impending ecological catastrophe cannot be overstated. I plan to devote a number of future blogs to Laudato Si’ and the significance of this important papal encyclical.

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Image credit: kris krüg on Flickr