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The publication of Laudato Si’ in 2015 marked an important moment in the life of the Church. With this encyclical Pope Francis announced that the Catholic Church would – for the first time – intervene in the politics of climate justice. To read Laudato Si’ as a document of do-goodery would be a mistake. It is, in the truest sense, a radical text, exhorting Catholics and people of good will of all nations to change their perception of the world, to embrace a ‘new way of thinking about human beings, life, society and our relationship with nature.’ It is omnivorous in its influences, drawing on the literature of climate science, politics, philosophy and theology. It proposes practical and political solutions to the foremost problems facing our world today and throws down the gauntlet, not only to political leaders, but to each and every one of us. This course offers an opportunity not only to engage with this document but also to discover new ways to embrace the challenge which it presents.
Week 1: Laudato Si’ in historical context
Laudato Si’ set a new course for the Catholic Church in its approach to the problem of climate justice. Up to this point, Church leaders had been reticent to discuss environmental issues for fear of inadvertently aligning themselves with more misanthropic elements of the ecological movement. However, the text does build on the historical legacy of Catholic Social Teaching. This class will trace the journey towards the publication of Laudato Si’: a timely and novel intervention with nevertheless deep roots in the history of Catholic political thought.
Week 2: The politics of Laudato Si’
Laudato Si’ is a political text and it proposes political solutions. It highlights the fundamental problems withneo-liberalism and capitalism and argues that the meta-narratives of modernity lie at the heart of many of the problems which plague our human family. This class will critically investigate the claims made in the text regarding neo-liberalism and will compare the response of the Church to that of political thinkers from the neo-liberal, Marxist and eco-socialist traditions.
Week 3: The theology of Laudato Si’
Laudato Si’ is an essentially theological text. As the title suggests it is a form of prayer, expressing gratitude for the gift of creation and supplication for our culpability in desecrating this gift. Laudato Si’ references a range of Biblical texts, Thomist literature and twentieth century theology (including Romano Guardini and Teilhard de Chardin). It also owes an unacknowledged debt to Liberation Theologians such as Gustavo Gutierrez and Jon Sobrino. This class will unpick the theological underpinning of Laudato Si’, tracing its lineage through twenty centuries of Christian thought.
Week 4: The impact of Laudato Si’
This class will examine the response of figures within and without the Catholic Church to the publication of LaudatoSi’. Laudato Si’ was an unusually controversial text and it provoked an angry response in some quarters just as it was applauded in others. Undoubtedly the publication of this text also inspired movements of Catholics and non-Catholics, who took up the challenge laid down in its pages. This class will assess the impact of the encyclical, and will appraise the success of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.
Week 5: Practical next steps
In this session, participants will draw on their understanding of the practical implications of the text and will discuss ways in which they could contribute to the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.
Reading
Questions for reflection
1. What motivated the publication of Rerum Novarum in 1891?
2. Does the encyclical still have relevance today?
3. In Gaudium et Spes, Paul VI offered the following warning:
Man is suddenly becoming aware that by an ill-considered exploitation of nature he risks destroying it [the environment] and becoming in his turn the victim of this degradation.
Was this a helpful or an unhelpful message?
4. How do you think the Cold War shaped the Churches attitude to politics in the 20th century?
5. What is biocentrism? Is it a dangerous philosophy?
Reading
Questions for reflection
1. What does Pope Francis mean by ‘the Technocratic paradigm’?
2. How does consumerism ‘foreshorten the horizons of human flourishing’?
3. Is it fair to say that climate catastrophe and social injustice as a product of modernity?
4. Hypothetically, is inequality a fair price to pay for the increased prosperity of all?
5. Can Catholics believe in the rights of non-human beings?
6. Is Francis right to dismiss population growth as a factor in the ecological crisis?
Reading
Questions for reflection
1. Does Laudato Si’ offer a positive or a negative account of human nature?
2. What is an ‘ecological conversion’?
3. Is ‘ecological conversion’ really necessary to reversing ecological and humanitarian crises?
4. Francis has cited the following Ignatian aphorism as an inspiration:
“To suffer no restriction from anything however great, and yet to be contained in the tiniest of things, that is divine.”
How can this aphorism help us to understand our role in tackling the current crisis?
5. Is Francis right to prioritise beauty in his theology of creation?
6. Is Pope Francis a Luddite?
Reading
Questions for reflection
1. Does Pope Francis overstep his sphere of expertise when he writes about climatology or economics?
2. Is Laudato Si’ naïve or sentimental in its description of the natural world?
3. Is the Pope overly pessimistic in his vision of the Anthropocene? Is a ‘good anthropocene’ possible?
4. ‘Deep Incarnation’ is the best Christian theology for understanding humanity’s role in creation. Do you agree?
5. Is the Thomist delineation of ‘natural’ and 'unnatural’ human behaviours and experiences outdated in the 21stcentury?
Reading
Questions for reflection
1. What does the Pope mean when he writes that “realities are greater than ideas”?
2. Is the Pope right to claim that conventional politics has failed to tackle the climate emergency?
3. What do you understand by the phrase “multilateralism from below”?
4. In his recent ‘update’ to Laudato Si’, Pope Francis wrote:
“The actions of groups negatively portrayed as “radicalized” tend to attract attention. But in reality they are filling a space left empty by society as a whole.”
a. Who do you think he has in mind here?
b. Do you agree with his analysis?
5. Has the Laudato Si’ project been a success or a failure?
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Evaluation Form - Laudato Si · ChurchSuite Forms
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Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
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Aidan is a tutor in Social and Environmental Justice stream. He completed his PhD at the Divinity Faculty of the University of Cambridge in 2018. During his doctoral studies he ran as a Parliamentary candidate for the Green Party. He is the author of two academic books: Jewish Christians in Puritan England (2020) and Israelism in Modern Britain (2021). Between 2020 and 2022 he worked as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at St Mary's University in London.
