{"id":3437,"date":"2015-09-01T08:00:33","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T00:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=3437"},"modified":"2021-11-26T09:38:21","modified_gmt":"2021-11-26T01:38:21","slug":"135-laudato-si%e2%80%99-the-see-judge-act-itinerary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=3437","title":{"rendered":"135. Laudato Si\u2019: The See-Judge-Act Itinerary"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhere were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?<\/strong>\u201d<\/span> [Job 38:4-7<\/span>, NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The itinerary of the document<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In contents as well as in method, Laudato Si\u2019<\/em> is in line with all Catholic Social Teachings of which it forms a part [No.15]. So contents-wise, the encyclical reflects the four<\/em> permanent principles<\/em> of Catholic Social Teaching: dignity<\/em> of the human person; solidarity<\/em> in relationships and communities; working for the\u00a0Common good:<\/em> with preferential option for the poor, and stewardship for all creation; and promoting\u00a0subsidiarity. <\/em>These four permanent principles of Catholic Social Teaching stand as our guide as we read the text.<\/span><\/p>\n

In its format, the encyclical features an itinerary mapped out in paragraph 15. Following the see-judge-act method<\/em> of Catholic Social Teaching which originated from the movement of the young Catholic Workers in Europe of the early twentieth century and adopted by Pope John XXIII in 1963, this itinerary is set out in rich details over six chapters.<\/span><\/p>\n

[a] The \u201csee\u201d stage begins in chapter 1<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Titled \u201cWhat is happening to our common home,\u201d the text takes stock of the reality in the world. Issuing a wake-up call on our ecological crisis, it presents \u201cseveral aspects of the present ecological crisis\u201d [No.15].<\/span><\/p>\n

Readers quickly notice that Pope Francis, in keeping with his straightforward manner of dealing with issues, “tiresome and abstract” theological and philosophical reflections, and goes straight to down to earth facts. As he insists that \u201cfacts are more important than ideas,\u201d we see the hands-on, down-to-earth Jesuit Pastor at work, which is quite different from his two predecessors. The Roman Catholic Church, present in every corner of the globe, is ideally poised to gather facts on the ground, and this encyclical is “grounded in a fresh analysis of our present situation” [No.17].<\/span><\/p>\n

On the one hand, Pope Francis presents the current situation based on the best scientific findings available today. He does so as a way to listen to the cry of creation, \u201cto become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it\u201d [No.19]. Where critics seemingly take offence at the Church putting its fingers into science, of which it is said to know nothing about, such criticisms are nothing if not superficial. They ignore the fact that this Church has millions of scientists amongst its membership. Doing science is just part of the Church’s regular routine really.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, we are invited to open our eyes, look around, and see for ourselves what\u2019s going on in the world. Taking judicious notice of the reality around the globe, Pope Francis talks about a \u201crapidification\u201d in human pace of life and work, which is neither<\/em> in tune with the slow pace of change in evolution nor<\/em> for the common good. He talks about pollution, waste and the throwaway culture. Excessive use of fossil fuels comes into scrutiny, so do the climate change, water crisis, the loss of bio-diversity, deforestation, our failure to respond to economic crisis, global inequality, and the effects of all this on the Poor, environmental and social degradation, precipitating migration and \u201cuncertain future\u201d [No.25], etc. And in light of this, he talks about a \u201cgrave social debt\u201d towards the Poor [No.30], and an \u201cecological debt\u201d owed by the global north to the global south [No.51, 52].<\/span><\/p>\n

We do not expect the rich and the rich global north to queue up to kiss the Pope\u2019s hands any time soon for saying all that. So of course there are going to be divergent views and people are going to continue to argue whether the current phenomena of climate change is scientifically proven to have actually been caused by global warming or not. But, no one who takes a \u201cfrank look at the facts\u201d, the Pope says, can seriously deny that \u201cour common home is falling into serious disrepair\u201d [No.60], and that \u201cthe earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth\u201d [No.21].<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\" City-dwellers facing constant air pollution.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> An elderly shepherd by the Yellow River cannot stand the stench.<\/span><\/p>\n

On pollution and climate change:<\/span><\/p>\n