A General Introduction to Laudato Si for the Eco-Assumption
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First Part: A General Introduction to Laudato Si for the Eco-Assumption n 2012, as two of the fundamental options for the six years to come, the General Chapter of the Religious of the Assumption chose the double question of Ecology and Migration. In order to emphasize this stress on ecological and climatic dangers, we decided to put together a communal document which would help Ius to become more aware and at the same time energise us to make right choices for ourselves and for our communities in all our missions. At the CGP in February 2014 (meeting of the provincials) it was decided to give the task of preparing an outline for this document to the International JPIC Secretariat1 : the objective was not to produce a single document which would have been the result of a reflection written up by a small team. Rather, it would bring together contributions from all four corners of the world, showing a variety of points of view and styles. The present document is the fruit of this effort: it is a collection of fifty contributions from Assumption Sisters, laity, and religious close to our communities, originally written in English, French or Spanish, and then translated into 1 The International JPIC secretariat brings together the Little Sisters of the Assumption who created the secretariat in the first place, the Religious of the Assumption who have been part of it since 2008 and since 2014, the Augustinians of the Assumption. It was the RA part of the team who were given the task of co-ordinating the document: this consists of Sr Jessica Gatty, Sr Ana Senties, Sr Belen Miguel Frias and Sr Cecile Renouard accompanied by Sr Marie-Eugenia Ramirez from the General Council. the other languages. As it is, it is a wonderful realisation of our communal effort! We travel from the Biblical world to the roots of Hindu thought, from educative experiences carried out in Mexico to advocacy for disinvestment from fossil fuels in Europe and the USA, from the dangers of desertification in Africa to the peace between Christians and Muslims in harmony with the cosmos in the Philippines. We did not envisage that our document would be published more or less at the same moment as the encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si ! It is a huge opportunity for all Christians and everyone on this planet today to take advantage of this text which invites us to commit ourselves personally and as communities to a path of ecological conversion. In the circumstances, we might ask ourselves whether our document is unnecessary when compared with this great, vigorous and demanding text which is so full of hope and which concludes with points for meditation, prayer and action. The aim of this introduction is to encourage a taste for reading Laudato Si together with Towards an Eco Assumption! In these first pages we suggest certain themes present in the encyclical and show how the different parts of our document resonate and are clarified by it; it also helps us at the same time to concretise and contextualise the Pope’s propositions by giving them an Assumption educational colouring. A few words about Laudato Si The encyclical Laudato Si is presented by Pope Francis as a text addressed to all human beings without exception: he invites each person to delve into spiritual resources in order to respond to the challenges facing our common home. Scriptural references and the Christian tradition are particularly important in the Introduction, in Chapter 2, ‘The Gospel of Creation’, and in Chapter 6, ` Ecological Education and Spirituality’. All the way through the document the words chosen by Francis show a desire to 2 be understood by people of other faiths: so, for example, it is more a question of noble, generous actions springing from concern for the dignity of human beings rather than `holiness.’ The Pope mentions other religious traditions in a general way (especially in Chapter 5, ` Lines of approach and action’); this opens the door to a comparative study of human traditions and their relationship with nature and the cosmos. In this respect, references in our document to Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Amerindian traditions, and eco-spiritualities are well in accord with the dynamic of communion to which the Pope is inviting us. EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED Everything is connected: this expression is repeated many times in Laudato Si: far from being masters and possessors of nature, human beings are invited to situate themselves at the service of the garden of Creation. The Pope defends an anthropology and ontology of relationship, based on God as Trinity (240). He criticises `despotic’ (68) or `deviant` (69) anthropocentrism which leads us to believe that our technological competence gives us limitless power over the future of the world. He clearly affirms “the ultimate purpose of other creatures is not to be found in us” (83) much more strongly than in any of his predecessors in their encyclicals. We are invited to enter a relationship of dependence with the God who created us with the whole of creation, in love (77). In this way we become co-creators for this world in mutation, animated by the same movement of self-emptying as our Creator, who limits Himself to enable humanity to complete His work under the creative inspiration of the Holy Spirit (78). We are called to work in imitation of God’s restraint and be animated by wise prudence (124). THE BROAD VIEW The Pope denounces abuses of scientific technology and the death-dealing acquisitiveness exercised by human beings over nature and other human beings, as well as the illusionary financial and economic models which do 3 such damage to persons and eco-systems. He recognises that our rapaciousness in the world stunts us and does not help a true social development. We are obsessed with our technological accomplishments instead of being concerned with the purpose of our actions. “We have too many means and only a few insubstantial ends” (203). The Pope underlines the need for a creativity which honours human grandeur and dignity (192). This would mean the elaboration of new economic models for sustainability and solidarity, and a refusal of superficial initiatives and those fine words of the business community about their social and environmental responsibilities (194). This presupposes a struggle against material inequalities which cause us so much “indignation” and push us to act: for we are accomplices, at least those of us from the rich and polluting countries which monopolise the riches which should be given back to others (95). So we are called to promote another model, not of growth and excessive consumption and production but of diminution in the rich parts of the world, in order to allow all the poorest, both in the South and the North, to have access to basic goods (193). The Pope does not name capitalism explicitly, but he points out its failures by very firmly denouncing the impasses of our short term, predatory, deregulated and financialized systems. LESS IS MORE We are called to a deep conversion, because we need to break away from our habits of consumption, the “culture of waste” (123) which is so negligent and careless of nature and its creatures. He asks us to promote an “integral ecology” (Chapter 3) which is at one and the same time social and environmental, a culture rooted in the everyday, at the service of justice and the common good. A shared integral ecological vision could mobilise our collective energies at different levels, and make it happen: Francis invites us to place ourselves on the side of the voiceless, to denounce the propensity of the media and the powerful to ignore the situations lived by the most destitute (49); he invites us to support local initiatives, those which enable the poorer neighbourhoods of big cities to 4 become places of communitarian salvation (149): he encourages popular movements and civil society in its entirety to` put pressure’ on governments and those in charge of the economy (179,181,206) to go beyond the single concern for short term private interests, to develop institutions where a place is given to “great ends, values, and a genuine and profound humanism to serve as the basis of a noble and generous society” (181). Research into new lifestyles would involve recovering a sense of celebration, Sunday rest, contemplation, gratuity, relearning slower rhythms and a joyful sobriety (222). Towards an Eco-Assumption In its small way the present document would like to witness to our consciousness of all this in Assumption Together, and our capacity to support each other and encourage one another on the way to an integral ecology. Following this general introduction the document is made up of three main parts. An analysis of ecological challenges (Part II) is made in three ways: first by a reading of the history of the universe linking scientific discourse with the discourse of faith, then by an analysis of the roots of the actual crisis and finally by a description of certain of its consequences, notably migration, using examples coming from different geographic zones. Part III consists of a theological framework in two main sections: first we explore several great Biblical and Christian theological landmarks, using the resources of dogmatic theology, as well as the social teaching of the Catholic Church and the spiritual tradition of the Assumption. Following this there are some reflections on the ways in which different religious and spiritual traditions approach ecological questions. Part IV consists of presenting springboards for action; in particular that of education. The educational thought of the Assumption integrates 5 reflection and formation on the high ecological stakes involved, whether it be by presenting initiatives carried out in a neighbourhood in Mexico or in a high school in the Rwandan countryside.