Fair Observer blog
July 17, 2019
By Gary Grappo
In his papal encyclical, “Laudato Si’” (“Praise Be”), issued in May 2015, Pope Francis reminded humanity of its responsibility for stewardship of the planet, including addressing the challenge of our times, climate change. Had the pope stuck to the environmental message, it would have been papal history making enough. However, he went on to connect environmental devastation to poverty, growing inequality and the consumer-driven economies of today’s world. The latter, said Francis, prioritize profit and individual comfort and well-being over the welfare of mankind and the health of the planet.
The pope affirmed his agreement with the scientific consensus that not only is the earth warming at an alarming rate, but also that humanity bears a significant share of the responsibility. He condemned “worship of gross national product over human life and health” and tied such worship to mankind’s treatment of “Mother Earth,” asserting that “We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will.”
Was It Un-American?
In the US, a self-confessed secular but majority-Christian nation, the pope’s encyclical was greeted predictably with cheers and jeers as many pundits and politicians chose to read it as a political treatise — if not outright lecture to capitalist economies — as opposed to a spiritual message and call to Christian action. Was its less-then-veiled criticism of economic policies today a full-on assault of capitalism by the left-leaning pontiff? American audiences could hardly be expected to embrace such a politically tainted condemnation of their nation’s underlying economic system.
Coming just 18 months before the 2016 presidential election, in which issues like climate change, poverty and inequality were heavily debated, the pope’s document received much media attention. The candidates, however, largely avoided committing themselves, neither harshly criticizing nor warmly embracing its arguments.
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