Laudato Si is the encyclical of Pope Francis, dealing with Ecology and Environment, a topic of great importance for the Church and for the world, dated 24th May 2015, and published on 18th June 2015, coinciding with the world Environment day. The words “Laudato Si” are the first two words of the document in Latin, which mean “Praise be to you My Lord”, the canticle of St.Francis of Assissi.
The primary aim of the encyclical is evident from the words of Pope himself: “We are called to be instruments of God our Father, so that our planet might be what he desired when he created it and correspond with his plan for peace, beauty and fullness”(LS 53). Through this document the Pope passionately appeals to “every person on the planet”(LS 3) to an “ecological conversion”(LS 217).
The document has gained worldwide endorsement. No other church document in recent years has captured the public attention as Laudato Si. While welcoming the Encyclical whole heartedly, the American President Barack Obama says: “I welcome His Holiness Pope Francis’ encyclical, and deeply admire the Pope’s decision to make the case clearly, powerfully, and with full moral authority on his position-for action on global climate change”. In fact the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on climate change, Shyam Saran has rightly opined ‘the encyclical is more than a catechism on climate change’.St.Francis of Assissi, the patron saint of ecology, had a strong and compelling influence on Pope Francis,who chose the name ‘Francis’ in honour of this great saint. He was inspired by the life and person of St.Francis , who considered everything around us including the sun, moon and earth as brothers and sisters. He lived in harmony and friendship with all the animals on earth , birds in the air and with all creation. For St.Francis , the planet earth was his beautiful sister and loving mother, and hence deserving our love, concern and protection. Therefore, Pope Francis reiterates that such an integral approach to ecology is needed to protect the planet earth, our common home, which is going through an unprecedented environmental degradation. (LS.No.10,11.12)
The document is a clarion call for today’s society. It focuses on the serious challenges that planet- earth faces ,like pollution and climate change, waste and throw away culture, depletion of ground water and loss of bio-diversity; these unfortunate developments have weakened the quality of human life and thus in turn invariably promote inequality among people .
Pollution in all its three broad forms - air pollution, water pollution and earth pollution are life threatening. More efficient ways of waste management, including recycling, use of cleaner energy, greater use of bio cultivation are some of the means to be adopted in order to reduce pollution and to guarantee healthy air to breathe, safe water to drink and nourishing food to eat.
Our world is witnessing a rapid depletion of natural resources, including water. The poor and the marginalized are more vulnerable due to the scarcity of good and safe drinking water. Pope Francis says that “each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal species, which we will never know, which our children will never see, because they have been lost forever. The great majority become extinct for reasons related to human activity.” Each creature is called to be in harmony with the creation –a universal communion with God, with one’s neighbor and with the earth itself.
Pope highlights the role of man in protecting the environment. If man is responsible for ecological degradation, he should also find solutions to restore it. Technology is only the means and not the end. Progress in technology should not block the larger vision for man. But the globalization of technology has promoted anthropocentrism and relativism, which conveniently ignore the Creator and directly infringes the rights of the poor.
Pope concentrates on Integral ecology. Harmony is very important for ecology. Everything in and round us is interconnected and interdependent. Any imbalance will cause ecological imbalance in nature, leading to disastrous consequences. Mere economic development alone does not ensure genuine progress. Ecology, then also involves protecting the cultural treasures of humanity in the broadest sense. It calls for greater attention to local cultures when studying the environmental problems.
The indispensable role of dialogue at various levels is suggested by Pope: dialogue with international community, national and local policies, dialogue in decision making, dialogue between politics and economy, and religions in dialogue with science. An inclusive approach where there is an effective coordination among various ecological movements operating in order to protect the environment is recommended.
The last part of the document is on Ecological Education and Spirituality. It seeks to restore ecological equilibrium at various levels, establishing harmony within ourselves, with others, with nature and other living creatures, and with God. Motivation is given a great importance today in environmental education.
In the Book of Genesis, God has given man and woman dominion over his creation (Gen 1:28), He has entrusted them with the responsibility of “tilling and keeping it’ (Gen 2:15). The wrong understanding of “dominion” has led to the rupture of the harmonious relationship between human beings and nature. “Too much tilling and not enough keeping” has led to unbridled and ruthless exploitation of nature, which has brought about ecological imbalance. Eg: hunting, forest burning, logging, coal mining etc. Widespread indifference and selfishness worsen environmental problems.
”Environmental Education” is aimed at creating an “ecological Citizenship”, by motivating people to care for creation through daily actions, however insignificant they might appear to be. Schools can become suitable forum to engrave in the young pliable and receptive minds the importance of ecological consciousness. Coming down to the grass-root level, environmental education can instill responsibility in our people such as avoiding the use of plastic and paper, using public transport or car-pooling, turning off unnecessary lights (even if they need not pay for the electricity), use of low-energy bulbs, promoting organic farming, renewable energy and rain water harvesting, eating less meat, avoiding junk/fast food, saying no to ‘throw away culture’ etc.
Those responsible for imparting environmental education include political institutions, social organizations, the Church etc. The present unprecedented ecological crisis facing the world today calls for a profound interior ecological conversion in a Christian state like Nagaland. We need to create a new lifestyle of caring for nature. It is pertinent to put a check on the use of plastic flowers and non-degradable decoration objects in the churches. Use of crackers for the celebrations should be restricted, in the churches. An ecological awareness can be spread by using indigenous music, dances etc.
What is required of us is an Integrated Ecology. Governments, Churches and NGO s and communities need to make a concerted effort to reach out to every member to create ‘ecological awareness’. World Environment Day is celebrated on 5th June every year as declared by the UN General Assembly in 1972. It’s a day calls for positive environmental action. Laudato Si prepares us to celebrate Environment day on every day. Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan Nobel Prize winner who helped to get 30 million trees planted in Africa over 30 years , and Felix Finkbeiner, a little lad of nine years , who initiated the ‘Plant- for -the Planet’ scheme , are the luminaries and legendary heroes of ‘Human ecology’ of the Third millennium.
