Laudato Si

A summary of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the Environment, compiled by British Catholic layperson David Weight in September 2015:

The encyclical was written in conjunction with the Head of the Orthodox church, Patriach Bartholomew, to (somewhat unusually) address every person living on this planet.

It is based on Catholic social teaching, comprehensively referenced back to biblical texts, many other encyclicals and other sources, including scientific papers. The numbers in superscript correspond to the paragraph numbers in the original document. See: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

The act of creation was a decision and an act of love by God. ⁷⁷

To harm the environment is a sin.

We have a duty to minimise the harm we do to the environment.

We should love nature.

Climate change is a very major threat, and is caused mainly by burning fossil fuels. ^{23 – 26}

We need a change in our greedy life-styles to reduce consumption, although the harm can be mitigated through efficiency, re-use and recycling. ²² However, governments and corporations need to develop circular resource models which retain resources and eliminate waste. ^{22 & 192} Pressure is needed from voters, consumers and investors.

The damage to land and animals is leading to migration and conflict. ²⁵

Evacuees from climate change and associated resource depletion are not legally recognised as refugees. ²⁵

Generally, the rich have an ecological debt to the poor. ⁵²

Resource depletion leads to wars. ⁵⁷

There have been beneficial projects, albeit rather isolated. ²⁶

Problems include: Greed; ⁵⁹ Self-delusion and evasiveness; ⁵³ Lack of effective leadership and legal framework; ¹⁴ Problems of denial, indifference, and resignation or blind confidence in technical solutions. ¹⁴

A Sabbath day or day of rest important, and should apply to animals also. ⁶⁸

We should value all God’s creatures. God is present in all of them and all nature. Animals should be valued for themselves, not merely for their use to humanity, and we should treat them humanely. ^{10-16 & 92}

There is now, massive unprecedented power in the hands of a relative few, ^{102 – 105} along with a transfer of power from nation states to transnational organisations and financial sectors. ¹⁷⁵

The notion of perpetual economic growth is a myth, as is “trickle down”, as the planet is squeezed dry. ¹⁰⁶

The use of GM crops could bring dangers of dominance by seed providers, especially if seeds are infertile. ¹³⁵

Drug use in rich countries causes massive problems in supplying countries. ¹⁴²

Intensive development can destroy cultures and social structures. ¹⁴⁵

Indigenous peoples (who protect land) are threatened by agricultural or mining projects. ¹⁴⁶

Society as a whole, and the state in particular, are obliged to defend and promote the common good. ¹⁵⁷

The notion of the “common good” extends to future generations. ¹⁵⁹

We must consider what is the purpose of our life? What will be our legacy? ¹⁶⁰

Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain. ¹⁶¹

Many problems of society are connected with today’s self-centred culture of instant gratification and rampant individualism. ¹⁶²

We need to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, perhaps using subsidies needed in an energy transition period. ¹⁶⁵

The richer countries should pay most of the cost of cleaning up the environment and countering global warming. ¹⁷⁰

It is important to have continuity of policies, so we need to have policies that are carried through a number of government terms. ¹⁸¹

The 2007-08 international banking crisis should have led to new ethical banking. That hasn’t happened. ¹⁸⁹

We should boycott certain products. “Purchasing is always a moral – and not simply economic – act”. ²⁰⁶

Happiness means knowing how to limit some needs which only diminish us, and being open to the many different possibilities which life can offer. ²²³

There is need for greater humility and sobriety. ²²⁴

We should return to saying grace before and after meals. ²²⁷

The values discussed above should be taught in families, churches and schools. ^{213 & 214}

There is a need for Christians to convert to the environmental cause. ²¹⁷

The above has, for the sake of brevity, excluded much good work. Such exclusions are because they are aimed more at governments and corporations rather than individuals, or are somewhat remote from most British readers, such as: pollution, water scarcity or deforestation.
David Weight. 7 September 2015.