Laudato Si’ – Becoming Painfully Aware

My latest article is now online at the State of Formation website discussing the new Laudato Si’ Papal Encyclical on the environment. Here’s an excerpt from the article.

Francis sees scientific, ethical and spiritual concerns as equally important, but I suspect some of his audience was surprised by his suggestion that the ethics and spirituality of climate change should be built on the “concrete foundation” of science. Francis, unlike some of his predecessors, seems to be more inclined to view science and religion as co-equals. This is encouraging for the success of ecotheology, and for Catholics hoping Rome will provide moral leadership on environmental issues.

 

As someone coming from an animist worldview, it was hard not to feel at times that the Pope had been drinking from the chalice of nature religion, especially when he talks about hearing the cry of our sister, Mother Earth. Even accounting for the St. Francis of Assisi influences on the language, I think this is more than flowery Franciscan poetics.

Read the whole post at the State of Formation – Laudato Si’ – Becoming Painfully Aware.