By Paul Chapman
The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Kairos Center or its staff.
Suspecting that most people will not read Pope Francis’s awesome Encyclical Letter, subtitled On care for our common home, what follows are reflections on some of the contents from my personal perspective with a few comments about his recent trip to America.
Immediately after he arrived at Andrew Air Force base and greeted the dignitaries Pope Francis manifested his life of modesty and simplicity by riding away in a little Fiat 500 with his window open while the dignitaries who welcomed him were in their black limos and 4x4s, some of them armored. The contrast could not have been more obvious. Our American way of life stands in stark contrast to the life that the encyclical calls for. Throughout the trip he seemed to enjoy the pomp and ceremony and the huge crowds but he balanced these events with frequent visits with the neglected of our country: the poor, prisoners, the hungry, the homeless.
That Pope Francis is inspired by Francis of Assisi, for whom he is named, is evident throughout the encyclical. Many of the qualities attributed to Francis of Assisi are reflected in his way of living. Foremost is the organic connection between humanity and the rest of the living world. We are part of the natural world and not superior to it. Saint Francis is reported to have spoken of Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Wind, parts of the one family of the earth to which we all belong. In a similar way Pope Francis describes his intimacy with the natural world, He “feel[s] the desertification of the soil almost as a physical ailment and the extinction of a species as a painful disfigurement” (¶91).
By contrast, today’s people feel free to use and abuse the environment as if it belonged to them, and to ignore those people who are marginalized by reason of poverty.
Like prophets of old, the letter laments the present situation, calls for repentance and a change in the present way of being, or doom is inevitable. Despite the depth of the problems facing civilization, Francis does not lose hope. He firmly believes that the needed changes in human behavior are possible.
The litany of ways that our world has failed is comprehensive and persuasive. We humans must live very differently if our planet and all earthly creation are to survive. The encyclical intends to show that these are not exclusively systemic failures of the powerful but ultimately belong to everyone; the world’s problems are also our personal problems. Working toward a solution is everyone’s responsibility.
In the first chapter of Genesis God says that in creation people are to ‘subdue and have dominion’ over the earth. Yet, this does not give humanity control over the world’s creatures and resources. Humanity has the responsibility to ‘till and keep’ the garden of the world. That is to care for and protect the earth. We do not own the earth to destroy it; it is God’s. We are part of the earth and are charged with keeping it undiminished to pass on to future generations.
Our responsibility includes sharing the planet equitably with all peoples throughout the world; as the encyclical affirms, our “concern for the environment … needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolve the problems of society” (91). There should be no disconnect between our faith and efforts to overcome the curse of poverty and the abuse of the natural world – two evils that are really one.
Concern for the impoverished which permeates the encyclical is not an afterthought but is central to our life of faith. For Pope Francis, concern for the poor may well have preceded his awareness of environmental abuse. Because poverty is caused by disregard for the natural world including all its inhabitants, an ecological approach always becomes a social approach “so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” (¶49 – Italics in the original). Furthermore, concern for the poor is not an abstract empathy but requires physical encounter (¶49). It is not enough to imagine the needs of the poor. “The people directly involved must be part of the process” (¶102).
The Pope identifies many of the systems and structures of society that result in disregard for others and for the world of nature. Writing clearly and directly he comes to the very heart of the political, economic and cultural failures that lead to unraveling the earthly fabric. He is specific in his economic critique, writing, for example, that unlimited growth “so attractive to economists, financiers and experts in technology” is impossible in a finite world. Furthermore, the devotion to short term individual and corporate gain — dominant values by which the civilized world is guided — are in conflict with God’s will for the earth. Natural riches cannot be monetized; politics cannot be controlled by the economy; the impoverished cannot be marginalized; the common good cannot be compromised; the environment cannot be adequately safeguarded by market forces (¶190).
Discussing climate change and global warming he is very specific about both causes and consequences. He identifies who is responsible for the depletion of resources and who are the victims. He names the earth’s riches that we are destroying – the soil, the oceans, the air we breathe, the forests and how the poorest suffer most from their destruction.
Consider water, an endangered resource and an immediate challenge to society. It is the poor of the world who use the least water and suffer the most from its scarcity, The Pope condemns privatization of water, “turning [water] into a commodity subject to the laws of the market ” (¶30 – Organized poor people have campaigned against the privatization or water for many years).
While Francis condemns privatization of what should belong to the common good, such as vast areas of land, at the same time he urges that every campesino should own enough land to grow food to provide economic security. Land distribution is a significant issue in many lands, especially in Africa and Latin America. (In Brazil peasants have formed the Landless Workers Movement struggling for land redistribution.)
Not just water and land, but the many resources that are necessary for our commerce and production are exploited with abandon, leading to the destruction of the necessary biodiversity that the durability of the planet requires. Forests and woodlands, marshes and fish, soil, birds and even “fungi, algae, worms, insects, reptiles and an innumerable variety of microorganisms” are essential to a sustainable planet (¶34). The destruction of any one of these has dire consequences for us all.
Left to itself without human interference, the earth is in balance. Francis points out how “ecosystems interact in dispersing carbon dioxide, purifying water, controlling diseases, forming soil, breaking down wastes,” all of which are today threatened by human hubris (¶140). Reflecting this throw-away culture Pope Francis is critical of consumerism and consumption (¶22) and how much attention is given to the manufacture and collection of useless things of no value to society.
He is critical of the dominance of technology, so all-pervasive that it seems as technology’s motive, so focused on profit, is power – “the lordship over all” (¶108). He quotes Romano Guardini (The End of the Modern World) writing that “modern man has not been trained to use power well” (¶105).
As for systemic steps that can be taken, the fifth of six chapters expresses gratitude for the many voluntary organizations that contribute to the ecological movement; at the same time he is critical of the various World Summits that have not lived up to expectations due to a lack of political will (¶66).
Beginning with the Stockholm Declaration he 1972 he mentions the Basel Convention, the Vienna Convention, the Montreal Protocol, the 1012 Rio de Janeiro Conference and how they have sought to improve the situation — with limited success — and he makes many suggestions as to how alternatives to our present practices are available and feasible. We have the potential for overcoming the present exploitation of resources and disregard for the well being of the poor, but not the mindset. Until the world is able to redefine the notion of progress, we will be moving in a fatal direction (¶194).
In the 13th Century Saint Francis of Assisi, distressed by the luxury, pride and vanity of both civil and ecclesial structures directed his brothers to be “modest, meek and humble, speaking uprightly to all.” (The Rule of 1223, Chapter III) In establishing the community called the Friars Minor, he deeply challenged the way of life that was causing the impoverishment of the majority of the world’s population. He and his followers sought to live lives following the example of Christ in every way possible. The members who joined his community were to give everything they owned to the poor and own nothing themselves. They became beggars in solidarity with those that the world counts least and sees last. While limited by the duties of his high office, The Pope nevertheless seeks to live the simple, modest and humble life of Francis of Assisi. His relation to the poor is his way of life; to reach the goals for which he longs, he models life in solidarity with outcasts.
The final chapter has the ring of a sermon, a compelling call for all people and specifically Christians to live in harmony with each other and with the natural world, seeing the love of God throughout all creation. It is the call to overcome anthropocentrism and to work for the common good.
The ability to articulate the ecological problems of the world will have no effect unless there is a change of heart and a new commitment to a life of simplicity beyond the reach of excessive consumption. Yet, no individual commitment will make an appreciable difference in the world unless individuals join together.
In conclusion, Pope Francis has written an inspired document that describes the many ways in which modern society fails to fulfill the radical Christian mandate. It challenges all of us individually and together in groups to embrace an ecological spirituality.
A headline in the Guardian Weekly asks. “Will America Heed the Pope.” Considering how divided our country is, my immediate answer to that question was “Yes and No.” Sustaining the environment seems to be on the public agenda, but certainly not important enough. Unfortunately, many people are so invested in the common economic paradigm that they will dismiss the encyclical outright. They can’t get a foothold in the climb to change. The Pope’s seemingly endless litany of ways in which society must change left me a little numb. Yet Pope Francis remains hopeful, seeing the presence of God in all creation and awed by the beauty, variety and interconnectedness of all creation (¶84-88).
Will the pope’s call for a cultural revolution succeed in restoring ecological equilibrium and justice for all people? That may be the wrong question to ask. While our goal is global, we begin with ourselves and how we personally and institutionally manifest the world for which we struggle, day by day.
“Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain. We may well be leaving to coming generations debris, desolation and filth. The pace of consumption, waste and environmental change has so stretched the planet’s capacity that our contemporary lifestyle, unsustainable as it is, can only precipitate catastrophes, such as those which even now periodically occur in different areas of the world. The effects of the present imbalance can only by reduced by our decisive action, here and now. We need to reflect on our accountability before those who will have to endure the consequences” (¶106).
Cover image by pml2008