CST principles of human dignity and the common good in Laudato Si

Encyclical Laudato Si by Pope Francis is a development and a continuation of modern Catholic Social Thought (CST) tradition which started in 1891 during the time of Pope Leo XIII. He has emphasized through this writing on the continuity of tradition and demanded attention to the global ecological issues and challenges. Laudato Si is a part of affirmation of the catholic churches of continuity revelation as life and this entire world are dynamic realities. In this preamble Pope Francis wants everyone to reflect on what is happening to our common home (Francis, 2015). He wants everybody to think to the extent of exploitation humans have done to the environment and to other people. He draws meanings from the holy books to let people understand implications of their actions and how they are not conforming to the standards and values set by God.

Pope Francis maintains in Laudato Si that human life is intertwined with God, neighbours and the surrounding environment and he simultaneously rejects the interpretation of the scripture that mans dominion over the earth gives him a right to exploit nature (Vogt, 2020). He asserted that men are to maintain the garden of the world and men should realise that they are all just sojourners. They have to share and nurture this garden and not pollute and exploit for greedy purposes. He focusses on the human dignity and the common good by considering the challenges in the present era. He speaks that humans have entered into a new era where there are developments in the scientific and cultural environment. He highlights the modern myth of unlimited material progress and how this myth is leading to the development of a consumerist society and volumes of waste.

The myth of unlimited material progress is promoting the destruction of natural resources and increasing dehumanisation in the world (Isanbor, 2021). The increasing individualism fails to recognise the growing inequality across global communities. He highlights that people have become increasingly adhered to the norms of consumerism as a majority of the people are not taking actions that are leading to sustainability. There are environmental crises that have created havoc across the world. The ongoing developments in cultural systems and structures, technological and economic aspects. Injustice in the social structures and system lead to social sins which not only impact individuals but also the entire societies. For instance, the slavery system in US is not only causing harm to the specific individuals who have suffered from discrimination and racism rather, it is the entire black community which had to suffer from these social sins (Sren & Petrovi? tefanac, 2023).

Pope wants to draw the attention of the Christian community across the world that their holy books want them to act in a sustainable manner. The CST tradition is based on both New and Old Testament where creation story in Genesis implies connection of human life with God, with earth and with neighbours. The new understanding of CST principles of human dignity and common good as Laudato Si has relevance for the Christian communities across the world. Sustainability is the main theme of this writing as the Pope wants people from Christian communities across the globe to stand up and fight for environmental and social justice issues. This is the will of God as he wants his garden to be protected and nurtured. Christian communities across the world, for instance, have to protect and nurture this garden by paying more attention to people and not to profit (Cremers, 2023).

Therefore, Pope Francis expands CST to sustainability and includes social justice by focussing on human dignity, caritas, and the common good. In Laudato Si, he has called to reflect on the prevailing socially unjust systems by concentrating on the structural reordering of different ecologies like economic, cultural, social, daily life, and environmental. Based on this reordering, he developed an integral ecology notion and integrated sustainability ideas into CST. Hence, the Pope has used the scriptures to include sustainability and social justice issues in the CST. Nature cannot be renewed if humanity itself is not renewed. Human consciousness has to see the impacts of their actions of consumerism on nature. They have to reflect on their prejudices and biasness which forms the basis of socially unjust system. Only then a peaceful and sustainable communities can be created where human dignity and common good are upheld.

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