Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home 

by Pope Francis (CTS, £4.95)

IS THE Pope a communist? According to the recent reaction of his right-wing detractors to Laudato Si, the latest papal encyclical letter on the present ecological crisis, anyone would think this was a document as revolutionary as the celebrated manifesto by Marx and Engels. 

And yet it shares a similar integrated and rational understanding of modern science, philosophy, economics and politics but from the perspective of faith. Certainly it is the most readable and engaging publication to emerge recently from the Vatican in that it is well-researched, passionately written and clearly argued. It contains practical proposals for dialogue and action that could change the whole trajectory of human development in relation to the earth and its resources.

Pope Francis takes his inspiration from St Francis of Assisi who understood “the inseparable bond between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society and interior peace.” In fact the title of his letter forms the opening words of the Canticle of the Creatures in which the patron saint of ecology, in praising God, refers to our common home as a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who embraces us in her arms. 

This sets the tone for the rest of the document as it argues for the interconnectedness and interdependence of everything and our responsibility towards the whole of nature of which human beings are a part.

After rehearsing the devastating effects of the ecological crisis in terms of pollution, waste and the throwaway culture which disproportionately affect the poor, Francis makes a convincing critique of new paradigms and forms of power derived from technology that lock us into a downward spiral and ultimately serve vested interests. 

He argues for a sustainable progress in which technology can be harnessed to the common good of both our planet and its people. Yet this will require forthright and honest debate through local, national and international dialogue that is inclusive and transparent while demanding profound changes in lifestyles, modes of production and consumption and the established structures of power.

While recognising certain advances made by the ecological movement, Francis notes that progress has been slow when it comes to world summits, where national interest prevails over the global common good. 

This makes it all the more imperative to devise stronger and more efficiently organised international institutions with real power to manage the global economy and guarantee the protection of the environment. 

Meanwhile, politics and economics need to enter into a frank dialogue in the service of life — particularly human life — where the gap between rich and poor is widening to the point of obscenity.

In this respect the Pope’s words on the question of “austerity” are timely when he says: “Saving banks at any cost, making the public pay the price, foregoing a firm commitment to reviewing and reforming the entire system, only reaffirms the absolute power of a financial system which has no future and will only give rise to new crises after a slow, costly and only apparent recovery.”

Is the Pope a communist? No, but he is a powerful critic of the dictatorship of capital in speaking out with words of hope and encouragement on behalf of our abused planet and its suffering poor.