2015 encyclical of Pope Francis
Laudato si' ("Praise Be to You") is the second encyclical of Pope Francis, subtitled "on care for our common home". In it, the Pope criticizes consumerism and irresponsible economic development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take "swift and unified global action". The encyclical, dated 24 May 2015, was officially published at noon on 18 June 2015, accompanied by a news conference. The Vatican released the document in Italian, German, English, Spanish, French, Polish, Portuguese and Arabic, alongside the original Latin.
The encyclical is the second published by Pope Francis, after "Lumen fidei" ("The Light of Faith"), which was released in 2013. Since "Lumen fidei" was largely the work of Francis's predecessor Benedict XVI, "Laudato si'" is generally viewed as the first encyclical that is entirely the work of Francis.
Structure.
The document is organised as follows:
The six substantive chapters each have their "own subject and specific approach", but build cumulatively on the preceding chapters.
Content.
The title of the social encyclical is a Central Italian phrase from Francis of Assisi's 13th-century "Canticle of the Sun" (also called the Canticle of the Creatures), a poem and prayer in which God is praised for the creation of the different creatures and aspects of the Earth.
The tone of the Pope's phrasing has been described as "cautious and undogmatic, and he specifically calls for discussion and dialogue". For example, he states in the encyclical (#188):
There are certain environmental issues where it is not easy to achieve a broad consensus. Here I would state once more that the Church does not presume to settle scientific questions or to replace politics. But I am concerned to encourage an honest and open debate so that particular interests or ideologies will not prejudice the common good.
He adds that "Although the post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most irresponsible in history, nonetheless there is reason to hope that humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities." Francis does state that concern for the natural world is no longer "'optional' but is an integral part of the Church teaching on social justice."
Francis reportedly has said that the encyclical was not really an environmental document at all. The warming of the planet is a symptom of a greater problem: the developed world's indifference to the destruction of the planet as nations pursue short-term economic gains. This has resulted in a "throwaway culture" in which unwanted items and unwanted people, such as the unborn, the elderly, and the poor, are discarded as waste. This subtext makes the document "more profoundly subversive" than it appears on the surface.
The real problem, according to Francis, lies in the fact that humans no longer see God as the Creator. Thus we see "other living beings as mere objects subjected to arbitrary human domination" and do not realize that "the ultimate purpose of other creatures is not found in us". Francis says that instead of viewing humanity as having "dominion" over the earth, we must see that everything is interconnected and that all of creation is a "kind of universal family". Nature cannot be seen as something apart from humanity, or merely the place where we live. He says that our social and environmental crises are thus one complex crisis that must be solved holistically.
Environmentalism.
The Catholic Church, even after the Second Vatican Council, had put some distance between itself and the modern environmentalist movement. This was due primarily to concerns about Malthusian-derived concepts about population control and how that related to Catholic moral teachings on aspects such as artificial contraception and abortion, as emphasised in Pope Paul VI's encyclical "Humanae Vitae". Martin Palmer, an Anglican who was previously the Secretary General of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (an NGO created by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1995 to change the views of religions on environmentalism and global warming) claims that Francis' encyclical "really helped, but now unfortunately, people in the Vatican still fear they will be attacked or compromised over this."
Francis "pulls no punches" when lamenting pollution, climate change, a lack of clean water, loss of biodiversity, and an overall decline in human life and a breakdown of society. "Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last two hundred years," he states.
He "describe[s] a relentless exploitation and destruction of the environment, for which he blamed apathy, the reckless pursuit of profits, excessive faith in technology and political shortsightedness." "Laudato si'" "unambiguously accepts the scientific consensus that changes in the climate are largely man-made" and states that "climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day" and warns of "unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequence for all of us" if prompt climate change mitigation efforts are not undertaken.
The encyclical highlights the role of fossil fuels in causing climate change. "We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels – especially coal, but also oil and, to a lesser degree, gas – needs to be progressively replaced without delay," Francis says. "Until greater progress is made in developing widely accessible sources of renewable energy, it is legitimate to choose the less harmful alternative or to find short-term solutions." The encyclical's comments on climate change are consistent with the scientific consensus on climate change.
Poverty.
Concern for the environment is partnered with concern for people: "We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental." The encyclical "points out that we continue to tolerate inequality, in which some consider themselves more worthy than others, going on to assert that developed nations are morally obligated to assist developing nations in combating the climate-change crisis. Poor nations, the pontiff says, are ill-prepared to adapt to the effects of climate change and will bear the brunt of its effects. He suggests that the priorities of the poorest countries in the world should be:
Linking the issues of poverty, which has been a major issue in his papacy, and the environment, he insists that the world must "hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor".
He does not believe, according to the editor of "First Things", R. R. Reno, that "for all our flaws, Western societies are more democratic, more egalitarian, and more inclusive than any in history." Citing the New Zealand Bishops' Conference "Statement on Environmental Issues", Francis asks "what the commandment 'Thou shall not kill' means when 'twenty percent of the world's population consumes resources at a rate that robs the poor nations and future generations of what they need to survive.'"
Science and modernism.
"Science and religion, with their distinctive approaches to understanding reality, can enter into an intense dialogue fruitful for both", according to the pontiff. Religions, including Christianity, can make "rich contributions ... towards an integral ecology and the full development of humanity," however, "the scientific and experimental method" itself can be part of the problem when it decouples creation from the Creator.
Reno criticizes the encyclical, writing "Laudato si'" makes "many fierce denunciations of the current global order". This global order "destroys environment, oppresses the multitudes, and makes us blind to the beauty of creation." According to Reno, the critiques of the scientific and technocratic present contained in the encyclical make this "perhaps the most anti-modern encyclical since the Syllabus of Errors, Pius IX's haughty 1864 dismissal of the conceits of the modern era". He adds that the encyclical's tone lacks elements commonly found in the works of John Paul II and Benedict XVI that, in the tradition of "Gaudium et spes", would have affirmed the modern world while correcting its errors.
Technology.
Modern technology, the "dominant technocratic paradigm", is seen as a key contributor to the environmental crisis and human suffering. In the technocratic paradigm, Pope Francis points out, technology is viewed as the "principal key to the meaning of existence" and asks the world to "resist" the "assault" of the technocratic paradigm. ;templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" / ;"The technocratic paradigm has become so dominant that it would be difficult to do without its resources and even more difficult to utilize them without being dominated by their internal logic. It has become countercultural to choose a lifestyle whose goals are even partly independent of technology... Technology tends to absorb everything into its ironclad logic, and those who are surrounded with technology 'know full well that it moves forward in the final analysis neither for profit nor for the well-being of the human race.'"
B. P. Green observes that Francis's "continual rejection of the 'technocratic paradigm' in the encyclical" should not confuse the reader into thinking that he rejects technological progress itself.
Technology is not value-neutral and technological developments are directed by the profit motive, according to Pope Francis. This is a form of institutionalized greed, generally with little regard for environmental and social consequences. "The economy accepts every advance in technology with a view to profit, without concern for its potentially negative impact on human beings". The encyclical warns against "blind confidence in technical solutions", particularly in view of the fact that "the specialization which belongs to technology makes it difficult to see the large picture", which "can actually become a form of ignorance". As a result, many technological solutions are nothing more than short-term techno-fixes attempting to remove symptoms rather than addressing the underlying environmental, social, economic, and even moral and spiritual problems: "Technology, which, linked to business interests, is presented as the only way of solving these problems, in fact, proves incapable of seeing the mysterious network of relations between things and so sometimes solves one problem only to create others."
Given these significant shortcomings of technology, "scientific and technological progress cannot be equated with the progress of humanity and history", and we are deluded by the myth of progress to believe that "ecological problems will solve themselves simply with the application of new technology and without need for ethical consideration or deep change." A profound redefinition of progress and "liberation from the dominant technocratic paradigm" are needed, i.e., "we have the freedom needed to limit and direct technology; we can put it at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral." More fundamentally, according to the pontiff, we need to recognize that "technology severed from ethics will not easily be able to limit its own power", and that "the most extraordinary scientific advances, the most amazing technical abilities, the most astonishing economic growth, unless they are accompanied by authentic social and moral progress, will definitively turn against man." Pope Francis adds that the environmental crisis can ultimately only be solved if our immense technological developments are accompanied by a "development in human responsibility, values, and conscience."
Other topics.
According to a "New York Times" summary, the encyclical is "sweeping" in scope and is wide-ranging (80 pages / 45,000 words), including mentions of such topics as urban planning, agricultural economics, biodiversity, and cultural protection. On agricultural economics, the Pope speaks favourably of the "great variety of small-scale food production systems which feed the greater part of the world's peoples", whose benefits include use of only modest amounts of land and the production of less waste. His examples include "small agricultural parcels, in orchards and gardens, hunting and wild harvesting [and] local fishing". Family and subsistence farming in these contexts should be able to survive and flourish alongside agribusiness.
An intensified pace of social evolution in modern times leads to a phenomenon which Francis calls "rapidification" (paragraph 18). The term translates the words "rapidación" (Spanish) and "rapidizzazione" (Italian), which appear together in the Italian text of the letter. Celia Hammond, of the University of Notre Dame Australia, considers the term, although new to her, "a perfect description of our 21st century world, particularly in developed countries like Australia".
The encyclical also gives voice to the Pope's opposition to abortion, embryonic stem cell research and population control, saying that respect for creation and human dignity go hand in hand. "Since everything is interrelated", Francis says, "concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion." According to the Pope, we cannot "genuinely