Environmental Ethics

Volume 39, Issue 3, Fall 2017

Pope Francis’ Integral Ecology and Environmentalism for the Poor

The anthropocentrism of Pope Francis’ integral ecology in Laudato Si’ serves two strategic functions. First, it allows the pope to foreground the concerns of humans vulnerable to the ravages of ecological devastation, especially in the Global South. More importantly, privileging human beings justifies the responsibility Pope Francis places on us to engage in more sustainable relationships with one another and the environment. The encyclical’s investment in an ethics of care and the heterogeneity of its citational practice enhances its cosmopolitan appeal to audiences across religious affiliations and those with secular leanings.