Understanding Laudato Si' through the Lens of Genesis
A recent newspaper column made the comment, regarding the Pope's new encyclical, "Francis knows how to direct the spotlight." With respect to the encyclical, Laudato Si', I would instead point out that Pope Francis puts the spotlight on the question: What is the Lord's will for us?--with respect for this earthly home He has entrusted us with, and with respect to the human nature He has given us?
For insight in answering this question, Francis, no doubt guided by the Holy Spirit, looks to Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium. Hopefully, this fact doesn't come as a surprise to Catholics. But a non-Catholic reader of the Pope's lengthy encyclical might overlook this point.
The many Scriptural references made by Pope Francis are worth highlighting. But for this article, I will focus on Genesis. Francis notes that in Genesis, God reveals to us that we are comprised of the "dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters." As the Pope explains, "After the creation of man and woman, 'God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good' (Gen 1:31). The Bible teaches that every man and woman is created out of love and made in God’s image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26). This shows us the immense dignity of each person,'who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons'."
Because of this reality, God "can say to each one of us: 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you' (Jer 1:5). We were conceived in the heart of God, and for this reason 'each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary'." What is amazing, is that many of the so-called experts are overlooking the Pope's emphasis on God-given human dignity in this encyclical. Consider what Francis later states: "Since everything is interrelated, concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion. How can we genuinely teach the importance of concern for other vulnerable beings, however troublesome or inconvenient they may be, if we fail to protect a human embryo, even when its presence is uncomfortable and creates difficulties?"
Why does the Pope talk about God-given human dignity, and even abortion, in an encyclical promoted as being about ecology? Because Francis, like Pope Benedict XVI before him, has adopted St. John Paul II's concept of human ecology. The ecology of the planet earth and human ecology are interrelated. As Pope Francis states, "Authentic human development has a moral character. It presumes full respect for the human person, but it must also be concerned for the world around us and 'take into account the nature of each being and of its mutual connection in an ordered system'. Accordingly, our human ability to transform reality must proceed in line with God’s original gift of all that is."
The Genesis creation accounts "suggest that human life is grounded in three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbour and with the earth itself." The problem is, "these three vital relationships have been broken, both outwardly and within us. This rupture is sin. The harmony between the Creator, humanity and creation as a whole was disrupted by our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations." Pope Benedict observed that "irresponsible human behavior" has caused harm to both "the natural environment" and the "social environment." They are both "due to the same evil: the notion that there are no indisputable truths to guide our lives, and hence human freedom is limitless." It's the sin of Adam and Eve. And so, we need God's grace to remind ourselves: "We are not God."
For insight in answering this question, Francis, no doubt guided by the Holy Spirit, looks to Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium. Hopefully, this fact doesn't come as a surprise to Catholics. But a non-Catholic reader of the Pope's lengthy encyclical might overlook this point.
The many Scriptural references made by Pope Francis are worth highlighting. But for this article, I will focus on Genesis. Francis notes that in Genesis, God reveals to us that we are comprised of the "dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters." As the Pope explains, "After the creation of man and woman, 'God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good' (Gen 1:31). The Bible teaches that every man and woman is created out of love and made in God’s image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26). This shows us the immense dignity of each person,'who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons'."
Because of this reality, God "can say to each one of us: 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you' (Jer 1:5). We were conceived in the heart of God, and for this reason 'each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary'." What is amazing, is that many of the so-called experts are overlooking the Pope's emphasis on God-given human dignity in this encyclical. Consider what Francis later states: "Since everything is interrelated, concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion. How can we genuinely teach the importance of concern for other vulnerable beings, however troublesome or inconvenient they may be, if we fail to protect a human embryo, even when its presence is uncomfortable and creates difficulties?"
Why does the Pope talk about God-given human dignity, and even abortion, in an encyclical promoted as being about ecology? Because Francis, like Pope Benedict XVI before him, has adopted St. John Paul II's concept of human ecology. The ecology of the planet earth and human ecology are interrelated. As Pope Francis states, "Authentic human development has a moral character. It presumes full respect for the human person, but it must also be concerned for the world around us and 'take into account the nature of each being and of its mutual connection in an ordered system'. Accordingly, our human ability to transform reality must proceed in line with God’s original gift of all that is."
The Genesis creation accounts "suggest that human life is grounded in three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbour and with the earth itself." The problem is, "these three vital relationships have been broken, both outwardly and within us. This rupture is sin. The harmony between the Creator, humanity and creation as a whole was disrupted by our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations." Pope Benedict observed that "irresponsible human behavior" has caused harm to both "the natural environment" and the "social environment." They are both "due to the same evil: the notion that there are no indisputable truths to guide our lives, and hence human freedom is limitless." It's the sin of Adam and Eve. And so, we need God's grace to remind ourselves: "We are not God."
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