Unfortunately, not all great thoughts circulate as quickly as they should, or even as quickly as not-so-great thoughts. If you follow the news, you might be more up-to-date on Trump’s run for presidency or Kardashian’s post pregnancy than some powerful words that came out of the Catholic Church this summer. For those who hadn’t heard, the widely adored, similarly feared and no doubt controversial Pope Francis came forward with a statement on his and the church’s stance on the environment. The papal encyclical he delivered this summer delivers a challenging and deeply moving argument for being more concerned about our environment. I’d encourage anyone to read it, but for those who don’t have the time to read the 170 pages in full, I’ll summarize as best I can in the shortness of an opinion column.
Off the bat, one of the most startling things about the encyclical is the Pope’s open acceptance of science. This alone is something to raise your eyebrows about as his Holiness is the leader of the same organization that helped incarcerate Galileo for suggesting the universe wasn’t centered around the Earth (spoiler alert: It’s not). Nor has religion been known for keeping step with science on topics like evolution, sex education and, until now, climate change. In his encyclical though, Francis lays out the case for global warming and widespread trashing of the environment. Not only that, he does it in a style not too removed from a well-cited academic paper, which isn’t surprising considering his background in science (any chemistry majors seeking the papal office?).
Pope Francis recognizes that the changes we’re seeing are caused by our own actions, that at its basis is our economic model reliant on the “intensive use of fossil fuels,” also calling out deforestation and industrial agriculture. In acknowledging the case that scientists worldwide are agreeing on, the Pope addresses the first step of recovery for any unhealthy behavior: acceptance. While challenge and debate with science are what the field is all about and regularly welcomed, what is unproductive is the dubious science, often funded by fossil fuel groups, spread to confuse the public, create doubt and delay action.
Enter James Inhofe, chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, who earlier this year threw a snowball in Congress to finally “disprove” global warming. Before change can be made, the global community needs to accept there is a need for change, and the chemist-turned-Pope’s encyclical is the catalyst for that movement toward acceptance. And that’s only the first chapter.
Francis connects the current lack of concern for the environment with our disregard for the poor. Through both, we show our lack of humanity and compassion. Too often in politics the rights of the wealthy are given precedence while we neglect the less fortunate. Do you remember the feeling of revulsion when reading about Katniss take on the dystopian society in “The Hunger Games,” where the rich have limitless access to resources and luxury and take pills to throw up so they can eat more, while the poor can barely put food on the table and sacrifice all the results of their labor to the elite Capitol?
That society is not a fantasy story, not even on the national scale. Not even on the Raleigh scale. The poorest of the world in developing countries that contribute the least to global warming will suffer the most from its impacts as the first world continues its lavish lifestyle. At the expense of the U.S. culture of food waste, consumerism and jacked-up pick-up trucks, the poorest in the world will be hit the hardest because they don’t have governments with good social safety nets, lack the technology and infrastructure to adapt and depend most directly on the environment for their livelihood. The Pope even calls out the world’s obsession with air-conditioning (He must’ve visited my department during summer. Are you wearing a sweatshirt?)
We’ve built an economy where the economy is God. Anyone working in environmental advocacy may agree; more often actions that are good for the environment have to be framed in economic terms (better air quality will increase property values and decrease lost worker productivity) instead of being able to say that what’s good for the environment is just morally good, for our health and the planet’s. As the Pope said, “Whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of the deified market, which becomes the only rule.” Francis laments idolatry and the modern culture where the idol is wealth.
Most importantly, the Pope reframes Nature’s place in Christianity. Many Christians hold dear that God granted us “dominion” over His Creation to justify exploiting the environment. Still others have a prevailing disregard for the earth since it is flawed and separate from heaven anyway. The Pope declares this is a false interpretation of the Bible. Citing the Bible, he said “the Lord by wisdom founded the earth” and that he “rejoices in all his works.” Francis lays down an interpretation of the scripts that are reverent of Nature, rather than tyrannical. How we treat Nature falls a far cry from respect: “For you love all things that exist, and detest none of the things that you have made.”
In the Pope’s eyes, treating the environment with respect is integral to being kind to your neighbor and showing reverence to the Lord. The Pope’s words even border on mysticism, bemoaning that “this sister [the Earth] now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her.” He warns of the moral decay that comes with putting economic gains first since its model, capitalism, is life-vacant, where faith and compassion are life-affirming.
Ultimately, what the Pope’s words call for is accepting responsibility for the state of the world and moving away from a self-centered culture. It couldn’t come at a more welcoming time. Changing the excessive impact we have on the environment is not likely to be solved by a new series on National Geographic, more sustainability apps or a trendy T-shirt slogan, but by a change in ethics. Put simply, that is the distilled principle behind Francis’ encyclical and the reoccurring theme of the Bible that is ironically the least publicized in our culture and politics: to live selflessly and for others. Francis would like to see us move away from the growing moral model and be less selfish, and that is a hard wish to crucify.
