En påvlig encyklika är en läroskrift riktad till den katolska kyrkan, men denna gång är målgruppen större än så. Grundat i den kloka insikten att miljöfrågorna angår oss alla riktar sig påven till hela världens befolkning. Han uppmanar till objektiva samtal, fria från politisk partiskhet och förutfattade meningar.
"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. It sometimes happens that complete information is not put on the table; a selection is made on the basis of particular interests, be they politico-economic or ideological. This makes it difficult to reach a balanced and prudent judgement on different questions, one which takes into account all the pertinent variables." (s. 100).
"International negotiations cannot make significant progress due to positions taken by countries which place their national interests above the global common good. Those who will have to suffer the consequences of what we are trying to hide will not forget this failure of conscience and responsibility." (s. 125)Det är självklart ingen slump att encyklikan kommer just i år. I december ska världens nationer fatta beslut om ett globalt klimatavtal på FN:s klimatkonferens i Paris. Men påven poängterar också vårt gemensamma ansvar för skapelsen. Du och jag är minst lika viktiga i omställningen till en hållbar värld som världsledare och politiker.
"While the existing world order proves powerless to assume its responsibilities, local individuals and groups can make a real difference. They are able to instil a greater sense of responsibility, a strong sense of community, a readiness to protect others, a spirit of creativity and a deep love for the land." (s. 131)Påve Franciskus ger en bred beskrivning av den global utvecklingens utmaningar, och motiverar utifrån aktuell forskning varför det är viktigt att vi tar klimatkrisen på största allvar. Men han gör mer än så. Han lägger en värdegrund för miljöengagemanget utifrån Bibeln och den kristna tron.
"In the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the word "creation" has a broader meaning than "nature" for it has to do with God’s loving plan in which every creature has its own value and significance. Nature is usually seen as a system which can be studied, understood and controlled, whereas creation can only be understood as a gift from the outstretched hand of the Father of all, and as a reality illuminated by the love which calls us together into universal communion." (s. 55)
"Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience." (s. 159)
"We do not understand our superiority as a reason for personal glory or irresponsible dominion, but rather as a different capacity which, in its turn, entails a serious responsibility stemming from our faith." (s. 161)
Påve Franciskus tar stark ställning för världens fattiga och poängterar att miljökrisen också är en moralisk kris.
"Today we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor." (s. 35)
"We need to strengthen the conviction that we are one single human family. There are no frontiers or barriers, political or social, behind which we can hide, still less is there room for the globalization of indifference." (s. 39)
"Human beings and material objects no longer extend a friendly hand to one another; the relationship has become confrontational. This has made it easy to accept the idea of infinite or unlimited growth, which proves so attractive to economists, financiers and experts in technology. It is based on the lie that there is an infinite supply of the earth’s goods, and this leads to the planet being squeezed dry beyond every limit." (s. 79)
"We fail to see the deepest roots of our present failures, which have to do with the direction, goals, meaning and social implications of technological and economic growth." (s. 82)
"We know how unsustainable is the behaviour of those who constantly consume and destroy, while others are not yet able to live in a way worthy of their human dignity. That is why the time has come to accept decreased growth in some parts of the world, in order to provide resources for other places to experience healthy growth." (s. 141)
"A strategy for real change calls for rethinking processes in their entirety, for it is not enough to include a few superficial ecological considerations while failing to question the logic which underlies present-day culture. A healthy politics needs to be able to take up this challenge." (s. 145)
Det jag tycker är en av påvens viktigaste poänger är att vi måste återuppväcka vår förundran över skapelsen. Att glädjas över en soluppgång, fågelsången en solig vårdag eller höstens färgexplosion kostar ingenting, har ingen miljöbelastning, men ger livsglädje och välbefinnande. Hand i hand går insikten att vi inte behöver en massa nya prylar för att vara lyckliga. Förnöjsamhet och enkelhet. Urgamla kristna värden - med framtiden för sig.
"By learning to see and appreciate beauty, we learn to reject self-interested pragmatism. If someone has not learned to stop and admire something beautiful, we should not be surprised if he or she treats everything as an object to be used and abused without scruple. If we want to bring about deep change, we need to realize that certain mindsets really do influence our behaviour." (s. 157)
"A constant flood of new consumer goods can baffle the heart and prevent us from cherishing each thing and each moment. To be serenely present to each reality, however small it may be, opens us to much greater horizons of understanding and personal fulfilment. Christian spirituality proposes a growth marked by moderation and the capacity to be happy with little. It is a return to that simplicity which allows us to stop and appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities which life affords us, to be spiritually detached from what we possess, and not to succumb to sadness for what we lack." (s. 162)Vill du läsa encyklikan finns den på engelska här: laudatosi.com
En svensk sammanfattning finns här
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