(Crossposted from Points of Inflection by John Roe)
In this series of posts I have been blogging chapter by chapter through Pope Francis’ encyclical “on the care of our common home”, Laudato si. We’ve now arrived at the fifth chapter, which begins, “So far I have attempted to take stock of our present situation… [Now I will] try to outline the major paths of dialogue which can help us escape the spiral of self-destruction which currently engulfs us.”
The activist might read this as suggesting that the Pope is finally getting to the point! After all the theological talk, time for some action! But that would miss one of the central ideas of Laudato si, namely, that how we respond to environmental crisis is, ultimately, a function of how we see and celebrate creation. I nearly wrote, how we think about creation, but that is too cerebral. What lies behind activism (according to the Pope) is not just a way of thinking, but a way of allowing creation to impact our lives – to be seen – which is itself part of a personal relationship.
Continue reading Escaping the Spiral: Chapter 5 of “Laudato si”
