The annual occurrence of increasingly destructive wildfires in the Western states, the increasing frequency and severity of tropical storms, and severe winter storms in areas of traditionally mild climates all testify that our climate is changing dramatically, and that we are destroying our earth, the source upon which all life depends. As people of faith, it is our responsibility to work to preserve our planet so that the glory of God’s creation is preserved, and the earth can continue to nurture future generations. This is the theme of Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, the Holy Father’s encyclical on climate change and global warming. The encyclical examines the science behind global warming, connects it with the basic tenets of our Catholic faith, and issues a call to action to restore respect for the earth with whose stewardship God has graced us.

From Monday, November 16, 2020, to Monday, April 12, 2021, St. John Vianney held an online class to study and discuss Pope Francis’ encyclical. All sessions are available in the Laudato Si playlist on the SJV Kirkland Adult Faith Formation channel on YouTube. The class discussed:

• The disinformation campaign that makes it appear that there is no scientific consensus about climate change when in fact the science is well established.
• The focus on care for our common home as inspired by the life and work of St. Francis, and also reflected in the theology and works of Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, and ‘the Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Pope Francis particularly stresses St. Francis’ Canticle of the Creatures.
• A broad outline of the crisis facing our common home, which brings together such issues as global warming, extinction of species, rising water levels, water scarcity, the declining quality of human life, and the rise of world poverty. Notable is the Holy Father’s ability to unite a wide range of issues, which are often seen as independent of one another, into a cohesive whole.
• The theology that underlies the encyclical, which particularly draws on the work of Pope Benedict XVI, focuses on a contextual (and non-literal) interpretation of the creation story in Genesis and on a critique of anthropocentrism, which is a misplaced belief that humankind has the exclusive right to control God’s creation.
• The human (man-made) causes of the crisis. Here, Pope Francis examines the philosophical, social, and practical roots of the crisis facing our common home. The Holy Father lays enormous emphasis on the philosophy of anthropocentrism, which substitutes human brilliance for God’s activity and inevitably leads to a practical relativism in which we evaluate everything around us in relationship to our own convenience.
• Integral ecology, in which Pope Francis unites all of the various (currently separate) movements that aim at care of our common home into a cohesive whole while focusing particularly on the dignity of humankind and especially of the poor.
• The spirituality of faith and the spirituality of world systems. As humans, we have an innate need to fill our spirits with something. As a people of faith, we should fill ourselves with God, the knowledge of God’s presence, and a recognition of our interrelationship to and interdependence on all of God’s creation. In contrast, the spirituality of the world fills us with pride in control over things and people and a focus on our possessions. We studied Psalm 115, which notes that idolatry consists of worshiping the things that we ourselves create; and the tragedy of idolatry as that those lifeless idols than assume power over their creators. When that happens, humans who bear the divine image instead take on the image of the lifeless idols who control them.
• Pope Francis’ call to action. Pope Francis urges that we take practical steps to care for and protect our common home, and to reverse the current trend of environmental and social deterioration. He also calls for a change of mindset – for an abandonment of anthropocentrism in favor of a recognition that we are all interconnected, not only with one another and with future generations, but also with all of God’s creation.

In responding to the Holy Father’s call to action, we are writing a weekly column that alternates between sharing practical steps that we can take to preserve our common home and briefly reflecting on theological, spiritual, or scientific themes that can contribute to changing the way we regard God’s creation. We hope that you enjoy these columns and find them informative and thought-provoking. And of course, we welcome your feedback. If you are interested in preparing these weekly columns with us, call the parish office at 425-823-0737. We’d love for you to join us!

The weekly columns fall into two categories:

• Practical actions that we can take to preserve our common home for ourselves, future generations, and all life created by God.
• Reflections that help us change our thinking about ourselves and our relationship to God’s creation.