The common house. The “Ecological” Encyclical of Pope Francis

Abstract

The aim of the encyclical of Pope Francis Laudato Si’ is neither settling of the controversies around the reasons of the ecological crisis, nor making concrete proposals for its solution. The Pope reveals rather the deep roots of the crisis. They are inherent in a greedy and mindless attitude to the environment. That attitude leads to a kind of “wasteful and consumerist superdevelopment”. It means that only a few profit from the resources of the earth, which have originally been destined for all. One of the keywords for understanding the encyclical is doubtlessly a term “human ecology”. According to that term not only the habitats of plants and animals should be protected but also human life and the requirements of the human nature, independently from their development stage, health and social status. The ecology is according to Pope Francis not a marginal subject of Christian reflection but it refers to the essence of Christian life founded on the Gospel itself. That is why the ecological spirituality is also very important. It enables to shape the adequate attitude to every human being and to the natural world.