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Pope Francis is believed to have consulted widely in preparing Laudato Si’. One whom he did consult was Columban Fr Sean McDonagh. Nathan Schneider interviewed Sean about this in America Magazine in an article entitled “A Prehistory of Laudato Si’.” http://goo.gl/GpJUuo The following are some excerpts.
Many people seem to think that the ideas in the pope's encyclical are very new, but you’ve been developing theologies of ecology for decades. How did this begin for you?
I was a missionary in the Philippines for many years, and I worked with a tribe of people on the southern island of Mindanao called the T'boli. I watched the decimation of their tropical rainforest, which is extraordinarily rich in biodiversity. Almost all of it was cut down for use as lumber. I saw the impact of that—a loss of biodiversity, the destruction of topsoil, and the movement of topsoil into the sea, destroying the coral reefs. I began to see that these things were linked to how we were living in a very unsustainable way. I began to develop these concepts in the first book I wrote, “To Care for the Earth,” which was published in 1986. ...At the time, there was very little in Catholic social teaching about the Earth.
Many people point to the legacy of St. Francis as a precursor for Pope Francis in this respect. Is it fair to trace the history in that way?
St. Francis' fraternal orientation toward the rest of nature didn’t persist for centuries. It has only been taken up again in the last two or three decades. For a religion that believes in the Incarnation, in God becoming part of the natural world, we hardly had a theology of creation at all. And that’s what we’re trying to change now. Pope Francis is talking about the intrinsic rights of nature; that would’ve been unbelievable even 10 years ago—that the natural world has intrinsic value, not just instrumental value for human use.
When you were trying to develop these ideas in the '80s, when there was not much on Catholic social teaching to draw from, what did you turn to? What sources?
I turned to the scriptures, most of all—particularly the Hebrew scriptures, which contain multiple theologies of creation, not just in the Book of Genesis, but also in the Book of Job, for example. ...I was supported, also, by the beliefs and culture of the T'boli people, who have a much more responsive approach to the natural world—never using it up or abusing it, because if they did they know they wouldn't be able to survive.
What kind of role has the church had in environmental diplomacy since then?
At the moment, with the new document out, people are forgetting the historical evolution of things. The encyclical is very critical of politicians for not coming up with solutions. But I believe the church itself is also to blame, along with its bishops, in failing to recognize quickly enough the crisis of the habitability of this planet, not just for humans but for other species as well. This encyclical is the first recognition of the issue's true urgency from the church that I’m aware of.
How do you understand this concept of "integral ecology" that the encyclical relies on so much?
We must remember that ecology is a science—the science of the relationship between the biosphere and other systems on Earth. The integrated ecology that Pope Francis has developed is a relationship between ecology and the kinds of efforts that he wants to see us build in terms of human equality and well-being on the planet. He does very well in that.
What do you see as the remaining challenges in developing a Catholic theology of creation?
We’re beginning to regain a sensitivity for other species. It’s clear now that they have intrinsic value, and we have very serious obligations in how we relate to them. I’d like to see that developed more. One of the things religions do is well is ritual. We really need a ritual at this point—almost like the lamentations of the Hebrew scriptures—to lament for what we’re doing to the planet and the species we're pushing over the precipice of extinction without even giving it a second thought.
We need to develop the ethics, the theology and the praxis. The question of how to live out our relationships with the natural world is at the heart of what it means to be a Catholic Christian in the 21st century.
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