Last month, I attended a national ecclesial gathering which brought together lay leaders, religious, scholars, bishops, and priests to delve more deeply into Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si and its attendant call to ecological conversion and ecological stewardship. Released in 2015, this groundbreaking document was promulgated ahead of the Paris Climate Summit in an effort to galvanize global support toward collective action in sustaining our planet and its fragile environment. This past October, near the beginning of the Synod on Synodality in Rome, Pope Francis promulgated Laudate Deum, which repeated the urgent warning from eight years ago that our planet’s habitability is in danger and thus requires a response that is intentional, integral, and sustained.

Below, I offer some key takeaways from this informative gathering. I wish to also offer a few words about Laudato Si and the witness of our modern popes – the consistency of which, both in the area of Catholic social teaching and environmental stewardship, has been compelling. I come away from this gathering inspired to do more as a pastor and professor in response to climate change and its attendant pernicious effects. In addition to this blog piece, an upcoming episode of The Basilica of Saint Mary’s new podcast will feature a conversation I recently had with two parishioners who work in the area of environmental justice and conservation.

In the summer of 2017, I was afforded the opportunity to teach in an international summer law program at a Catholic law school in Budapest. The topic of the program was sustainability and law. I was tasked with providing a primer on Catholic social teaching and the Church’s teaching on environmental ethics and sustainability. Our primary text for my section of the course was Laudato Si. It is a sprawling text rich in theological reflection and practical wisdom. Many point to Laudato Si’s emphasis on integral ecology as its primary novel contribution to this vital discussion. I don’t disagree with this claim, but I was as impressed by the fact that the document marshaled robust teaching from the world’s episcopal conferences, especially those most adversely affected by climate change.

Pope Francis also made good use of the wisdom of his predecessor popes – including persuasive quotes on the call the ecological conversion and stewardship from Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI. Benedict’s crisp section (CIV, 48-52) on the environment in Caritas In Vertiate is a master class on the issue and contains many of the themes that Francis more fully develops in Laudato Si, including the call to intergenerational solidarity and justice.

The other thing that struck me from this opportunity to engage with international Catholic law students was the fact that the non-American law students were much more conversant than American students in the soil and ethos of Catholic social teaching (CST). After an intense section on the foundations of CST and environmental ethics, one of the exam questions I asked was whether the decision by the United States to pull out, at the time, of the Parish Climate Agreement was consistent with the global common good. The answer seemed obvious to most of the students and the professor, but the key to a good law school exam answer is in the analysis. Memorably, two women aced the final – one from Nigeria and the other from Indonesia. Also memorable was the answer of one student who remarked in conclusion that not only was the decision to pull out of the Parish Climate Agreement contrary to the global common good, it will also not make America great again!

With this background in mind, both in terms of Laudato Si, and the cultural challenges of the reception of its teaching in the United States, I turn to my key takeaways from this recent ecclesial gathering. The conference began with an opening Mass and an excellent homily which emphasized that a particular gift of Laudato Si is its invitation to contemplate the order of creation through the light of wisdom offered through the order of grace. A gifted theologian began our sessions by focusing on theological anthropology, reminding us that modern humanity sometimes forgets that we are creatures, created by God. Accordingly, our relationship to creation must be one of humility and responsible stewardship. In extending this theme of humility before the gift of creation, she reminded us that we share more in common with the animals which populate the earth than we do with God. The life and wisdom of the great St. Francis, which features prominently in Laudato Si, comes to mind here both for his preternatural relationship with the created order and in his spiritual poverty and reliance on the divine order of grace. A way back from ecological ruin is to humbly follow God’s grace toward ecological conversion.

Second, from a lack of humility before God and God’s created order, the cultural roots of our present ecological crisis can be seen and the effects on the environment often exacerbated. There is the false notion in history, particularly so in our modern age, that we are at the helm – that we are in control and thus the unbounded potential of scientific and technological progress will allow us to master our future, even amidst the dire challenges of environmental harm and degradation. Particularly acute in our American culture is excessive individualism which results in our failure to look at our actions and how they affect our neighbor – both here and abroad. We are siloed in a cocoon of self sufficiency – literally bent in upon ourselves, as St. Bonaventure might say – the sustainability of our planet, its people, and other creature hanging in the balance.

Additionally, several panelists noted the failure to recognize how environmental degradation disproportionately affects the poor and thus has led to mass migration throughout the world. I address this important topic more fully below.

Third, speakers and attendees implicitly explored the spiritual roots of the ecological crisis, but more needs to be done to get at the crux of the matter, especially if we are to follow the Spirit to ecological conversion and a sustainable future. Not only do the modern popes demonstrate compelling consistency in their embrace and presentation of Catholic social teaching, they also consistently call Catholics to a transformative encounter with Jesus Christ. Strikingly, this call to encounter the living God appears near the beginning of most modern papal documents. From a personal and transformative encounter with Christ, we are able to see more fully the surpassing value of the created order in all its wonder and ascend to give God thanks for this great gift. These modern popes make clear how a transformative encounter with God leads to greater social responsibility and fraternity.

Additionally, from a place of faith, we recognize that all of creation is a sublime gift from God – a gift to be used with respect and care and sustained for future generations. Our present ecological crisis has deep spiritual roots. The wisdom of St. Augustine conveys that the restless heart which does not rest in God will often seek to dominate, subjugate, and destroy. In our present culture, the idols of comfort and consumption work menacingly with a consumerist economy that does not stop to the count the costs – to the environment or to the wholistic good of humanity.

Lastly, what can be done about our present crisis and how might Catholics take up leadership in a way that more effectively moves people from apathy to actions consistent with an integral ecology and a more sustainable future for all of God’s creation? The present ecclesial movement toward a more synodal Church and the work of restorative justice provide wisdom, which if applied, can lead to greater ecological conversion. Synodality was mentioned often throughout the gathering, including its invitation to walk together in humility and co-responsibility. Frequently, the work of restorative justice (RJ) also came to my mind during the gathering. Synodality and RJ share many of the same values and methodology – openness to the Spirit, attentive listening, accompaniment, humility, respect, co-responsibility, as well as the need to both name and repair harms in a way that fosters accountability and healing.

Storytelling, which is central to RJ, was mentioned often as a way of raising greater awareness of environmental degradation and its effects on the lives of real people, especially those most vulnerable. Human beings are not in right relationship with creation and thus not in right relationship with God, the source of creation. A synodal Church which practices and lives restorative justice will stop and listen to the groaning of creation and to the stories of the poor whose lives have been upended by environmental degradation. With charity, we will also imagine the yearning of future generations for clean air, for water, for the beauty of animals and plants teeming with life, and for an environment which is befriending and sustainable.