In his encyclical on the environment, Pope Francis rejects the ethic of humanity’s dominion over the Earth and replaces it with reverence and a profound appreciation of its beauty. In doing so he strikes a chord that will resonate beyond the Christian world
Of all the revolutionary aspects of last week’s papal encyclical on the environment, and there are many, from the intervention in the climate-change debate to the ferocious critique of consumerist values (almost amounting to an attack on capitalism itself), one stands out above all: the passionate assertion by Pope Francis of reverence for the Earth.At a stroke, at an astounding, radical stroke, the Argentinian pontiff rewrote basic theology and in so doing filled the gaping hole that has always existed in the formidable J
25 June 2015, The Tablet
The case for natural salvation
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User Comments (1)
Just back from a walk on a beautiful June evening. I'm Looking across Lough Corrib here in Galway . I'm reminded of some of Patrick Kavanagh's poems where the beauty of creation speak to him of God the creator.. 'Beautiful, beautiful God, breathing life in a cutaway bog'