Laudato Si':the Beauty of Pope Francis' Vision

Andrea Tilche and Antonello Nociti
Additional contact information
Andrea Tilche: Climate Action and Earth Observation Unit, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, EU Commission in Brussels
Antonello Nociti: Writer and philosopher, Italy

Review of Environment, Energy and Economics - Re3, 2015

Abstract: The Encyclical Letter of Pope Francis, "Laudato si'", addresses for the first time in the Church's history the subject of the protection of the environment, "the care of our common home". This rich and complex document analyses the causes of today’s ecological challenges, acknowledging the scientific consensus but adding an original analysis of the social, cultural, ethical and spiritual dimensions that are associated with the degradation of the environment. The Pope’s vision is that the ecological crisis is ultimately linked to a crisis of values, a spiritual void that permeates today’s technocratic society. In the authors' analysis, what makes this document particularly innovative is the Pope's appeal to action that, acknowledging the urgency and the immensity of the challenge we face, sees also its beauty, being a unique occasion for humankind to show what it is capable of doing, and that is capable of taking responsibility. This positive narrative has the potential to mobilise people and governments towards a joint action that cannot however be limited to technological fixes, but should be broadened to consider new development models capable of addressing the deep roots of this crisis.

Keywords: Encyclical; Pope Francis; Climate Change; Ecological Crisis; Ethics; Responsibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: Track citations by RSS feed

Downloads: (external link)
http://re3.feem.it/getpage.aspx?id=8171

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fem:femre3:2015.12-03

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Review of Environment, Energy and Economics - Re3 from Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Alberto Prina Cerai ().