protecting it in its fragility". In this perspective, "every act of cruelty   
   towards any creature is "contrary to human dignity". However, "a sense of deep   
   communion with the rest of nature cannot be real if our hearts lack tenderness,   
   compassion and concern for our fellow human beings". What is needed is the   
   awareness of a universal communion: "called into being by the one Father. All   
   of   
   us are linked by unseen bonds and together form a kind of universal family, a   
   sublime communion which fills us with a sacred, affectionate and humble   
   respect".   
    The chapter concludes with the heart of Christian revelation: "The earthly   
   Jesus" with "his tangible and loving relationship with the world" is "risen and   
   glorious, and is present throughout creation by his universal Lordship".   
    Chapter three - THE HUMAN ROOTS OF THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS (Technology:   
   creativity and power; The globalisation of the technocratic paradigm; The   
   crisis   
   and effects of modern anthropocentrism; Practical relativism; The need to   
   protect employment; New biological technologies).   
    This chapter gives an analysis of the current situation, "so as to consider   
   not   
   only its symptoms but also its deepest causes", in a dialogue with philosophy   
   and the human sciences.   
    Reflections on technology are an initial focus of the chapter: the great   
   contribution to the improvement of living conditions is acknowledged with   
   gratitude. However it gives "those with the knowledge, and especially the   
   economic resources to use them, an impressive dominance over the whole of   
   humanity and the entire world". It is precisely the mentality of technocratic   
   domination that leads to the destruction of nature and the exploitation of   
   people and the most vulnerable populations. "The technocratic paradigm also   
   tends to dominate economics and political life", keeping us from recognising   
   that "by itself the market cannot guarantee integral human development and   
   social inclusion".   
    "Modernity has been marked by an excessive anthropocentrism": human beings no   
   long recognise their right place with respect to the world and take on a   
   self-centred position, focused exclusively on themselves and on their own   
   power.   
   This results in a "use and throw away" logic that justifies every type of   
   waste,   
   environmental or human, that treats both the other and nature as simple objects   
   and leads to a myriad of forms of domination. It is this mentality that leads   
   to   
   exploiting children, abandoning the elderly, forcing others into slavery and   
   over-evaluating the capacity of the market to regulate itself, practising human   
   trafficking, selling pelts of animals in danger of extinction and of "blood   
   diamonds". It is the same mentality as many mafias, of those involved in   
   trafficking organs and drug trafficking and of throwing away unborn babies   
   because they do not correspond to what the parents want.   
    In this light, the Encyclical addresses two crucial problems of today's world.   
   Above all work: "any approach to an integral ecology, which by definition does   
   not exclude human beings, needs to take account of the value of labour",   
   because   
   "to stop investing in people, in order to gain greater short-term financial   
   gain, is bad business for society".   
    The second problem regards the limitations of scientific progress, with clear   
   reference to GMOs. This is a "complex environmental issue". Even though "in   
   some   
   regions their use has brought about economic growth which has helped to resolve   
   problems, there remain a number of significant difficulties which should not be   
   underestimated", starting from the "productive land being concentrated in the   
   hands of a few owners". Pope Francis thinks particularly of small producers and   
   rural workers, of biodiversity, and the network of ecosystems. Therefore "a   
   broad, responsible scientific and social debate needs to take place, one   
   capable   
   of considering all the available information and of calling things by their   
   name" starting from "lines of independent, interdisciplinary research".   
    Chapter four - INTEGRAL ECOLOGY (Environmental, economic and social ecology;   
   Cultural ecology; Ecology of daily life; The principle of the common good;   
   Justice between the generations).   
    The heart of what the Encyclical proposes is integral ecology as a new   
   paradigm   
   of justice; an ecology "which respects our unique place as human beings in this   
   world and our relationship to our surroundings". In fact, "nature cannot be   
   regarded as something separate from ourselves or as a mere setting in which we   
   live". This is true as we are involved in various fields: in economy and   
   politics, in different cultures particularly in those most threatened, and even   
   in every moment of our daily lives.   
    The integral perspective also brings the ecology of institutions into play:   
   "if   
   everything is related, then the health of a society's institutions affects the   
   environment and the quality of human life. "Every violation of solidarity and   
   civic friendship harms the environment".   
    With many concrete examples, Pope Francis confirm his thinking that "the   
   analysis of environmental problems cannot be separated from the analysis of   
   human, family, work-related and urban contexts, and of how individuals relate   
   to   
   themselves". "We are not faced with two separate crises, one environmental and   
   the other social, but rather one complex crisis which is both social and   
   environmental".   
    "Human ecology is inseparable from the notion of the common good", but is to   
   be   
   understood in a concrete way. In today's context, in which, "injustices abound   
   and growing numbers of people are deprived of basic human rights and considered   
   expendable", committing oneself to the common good means to make choices in   
   solidarity based on "a preferential option for the poorest of our brothers and   
   sisters". This is also the best way to leave a sustainable world for future   
   generations, not just by proclaiming, but by committing to care for the poor of   
   today, as already emphasised by Benedict XVI: "In addition to a fairer sense of   
   inter-generational solidarity there is also an urgent moral need for a renewed   
   sense of intra-generational solidarity".   
    Integral ecology also involves everyday life. The Encyclical gives specific   
   attention to the urban environment. The human being has a great capacity for   
   adaptation and "an admirable creativity and generosity is shown by persons and   
   groups who respond to environmental limitations by alleviating the adverse   
   effects of their surroundings and learning to live productively amid disorder   
   and uncertainty". Nevertheless, authentic development presupposes an integral   
   improvement in the quality of human life: public space, housing, transport,   
   etc.   
    Also "the acceptance of our bodies as God's gift is vital for welcoming and   
   accepting the entire world as a gift from the Father and our common home,   
   whereas thinking that we enjoy absolute power over our own bodies turns, often   
   subtly, into thinking that we enjoy absolute power over creation".   
    Chapter five - LINES OF APPROACH AND ACTION (Dialogue on the environment; In   
   the international community; Dialogue for new national and local policies;   
   Dialogue and transparency in decision-making; Politics and economy in dialogue   
   for human fulfilment; Religions in dialogue with science).   
    This chapter addresses the question of what we can and must do. Analyses are   
   not enough: we need proposals "for dialogue and action which would involve each   
   of us individually no less than international policy". They will "help us to   
   escape the spiral of self-destruction which currently engulfs us". For Pope   
   Francis it is imperative that the developing real approaches is not done in an   
   ideological, superficial or reductionist way. For this, dialogue is essential,   
   a   
   term present in the title of every section of this chapter. "There are certain   
   environmental issues where it is not easy to achieve a broad consensus. [...]   
   the   
   Church does not presume to settle scientific questions or to replace politics.   
   But I want to encourage an honest and open debate, so that particular interests   
   or ideologies will not prejudice the common good".   
    On this basis, Pope Francis is not afraid to judge international dynamics   
   severely: "Recent World Summits on the environment have failed to live up to   
   expectations because, due to lack of political will, they were unable to reach   
   truly meaningful and effective global agreements on the environment". And he   
   asks "What would induce anyone, at this stage, to hold on to power only to be   
   remembered for their inability to take action when it was urgent and necessary   
   to do so?". Instead, what is needed, as the Popes have repeated several times,   
   starting with Pacem in terris, are forms and instruments for global governance:   
   "an agreement on systems of governance for the whole range of the so-called   
   "global commons"", seeing that "environmental protection cannot be assured   
   solely on the basis of financial calculations of costs and benefits. The   
   environment is one of those goods that cannot be adequately safeguarded or   
   promoted by market forces" (190, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the   
   Church).   
    In this fifth chapter, Pope Francis insists on development of honest and   
   transparent decision-making processes, in order to "discern" which policies and   
   business initiatives can bring about "genuine integral development". In   
   particular, a proper environmental impact study of new "business ventures and   
   projects demands transparent political processes involving a free exchange of   
   views. On the other hand, the forms of corruption which conceal the actual   
   environmental impact of a given project in exchange for favours usually produce   
   specious agreements which fail to inform adequately and do not allow for full   
   debate".   
    The most significant appeal is addressed to those who hold political office,   
   so   
   that they avoid "a mentality of "efficiency" and "immediacy" that is so   
   prevalent today: "but if they are courageous, they will attest to their   
   God-given dignity and leave behind a testimony of selfless responsibility".   
    Chapter six - ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION AND SPIRITUALITY (Towards a new lifestyle;   
   Educating for the covenant between humanity and the environment; Ecological   
   conversion; Joy and peace; Civic and political love; Sacramental signs and the   
   celebration of rest; The trinity and relationships between creatures; Queen of   
   all creation; Beyond the sun).   
    The final chapter invites everyone to the heart of ecological conversion. The   
   roots of the cultural crisis are deep, and it is not easy to reshape habits and   
   behaviour. Education and training are the key challenges: "change is impossible   
   without motivation and a process of education" (15). All educational sectors   
   are   
   involved, primarily "at school, in families, in the media, in catechesis and   
   elsewhere".   
    The starting point is "to aim for a new lifestyle", which also opens the   
   possibility of "bringing healthy pressure to bear on those who wield political,   
   economic and social power". This is what happens when consumer choices are able   
   to "change the way businesses operate, forcing them to consider their   
   environmental footprint and their patterns of production".   
    The importance of environmental education cannot be underestimated. It is able   
   to affect actions and daily habits, the reduction of water consumption, the   
   sorting of waste and even "turning off unnecessary lights": "An integral   
   ecology   
   is also made up of simple daily gestures which break with the logic of   
   violence,   
   exploitation and selfishness". Everything will be easier starting with a   
   contemplative outlook that comes from faith: "as believers, we do not look at   
   the world from without but from within, conscious of the bonds with which the   
   Father has linked us with all beings. By developing our individual, God-given   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)