Laudato Sí: Understanding the Cries of the Planet
I have occasionally wondered why the Roman Catholic church is the only Christian denomination to have published a clear and objective evaluation of the way in which we are destroying planet Earth. That evaluation is provided in the encyclical Laudato Sí — a document that pulls no punches.
A hint as to why the Roman Catholics have talked so explicitly about the the destruction of our ‘common home’ comes from the book A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian D. McLaren. He considers the person of Jesus as viewed by the following seven different faith traditions,
The Conservative Protestant Jesus
The Pentecostal/Charismatic Jesus
The Roman Catholic Jesus
The Eastern Orthodox Jesus
The Liberal Protestant Jesus
The Anabaptist Jesus
The Jesus of the Oppressed
Distinctions such as these can never be precise — there is bound to a lot of overlap. Nevertheless, it was interesting to note that the Roman Catholic tradition focuses more than the others on the concept of a risen Jesus and the idea of treasures in heaven. The point is that death is a necessary step in the journey toward a better life.
The following quotation is from the book.
And even if you live and die as nobody here, you hold your head high, because beyond this life your true value, wisdom, and identity will shine through.
If we consider the Earth as being a living entity then we can better understand the following words from the Introduction to Laudato Sí.
This sister < our common home > 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. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22).
Pope Francis and the authors of Laudato Sí seem to recognize that we cannot jump from our present mess to a brave new world — first there has to be a death. Sacrifice is called for.
The manner in which Francis and the authors of Laudato Sí describe the Earth helps provide a basis for our guideline,
Live within Gaia