INTEGRAL ECOLOGY: Becoming Synodal Communities after Laudato Si’

1^st of five parts

(Third talk delivered at the annual holy retreat of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines at the Monastery of the Transfiguration in Malaybalay City on the theme “Synod Spirituality: Embracing Ecology in the Light of Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum” on July 2-4, 2024)

Grace to be asked for: (1) To be disturbed by the fact that due to our ecological sins and failure to hear the cry of the Earth, “thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us;” (2) to be receptive to the movement of the Holy Spirit who invites us to be in synodality with those who tirelessly work to “renew the face of the Earth.”

Suggested scriptural texts for reflection: (1) “For you love all things that exist, and detest none of the things that you have made; for you would not have made anything if you had hated it” (Wis 11:24); (2) “… then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Gen 2:7).

Let me present eight points for reflection for this third conference of our holy retreat.

The Third Talk of the CBCP Annual Holy Retreat held at the Monastery of the Transfiguration, Malaybalay City on July 2-4, 2024. Photo courtesy of Fr. Alfred Delfino

1. Transgressing the Core Boundaries

We speak of ecological crises in the plural as we are facing more ecological problems than climate crisis. Thanks to the planetary boundaries framework of Stockholm Resilience Center[1] that draws upon Earth system science, we are now able to identify nine processes that are critical for maintaining the stability and resilience of Earth system as a whole.

In this framework, the Holocene period (that started ~10,000 years ago, believed to be the end of the last ice age) serves as a reference point to a balanced and healthful ecology of our planet.[2] The pre-industrial period (i.e., before the year 1750) serves as “a reference for assessing the magnitude of anthropogenic deviations” and for identifying “a safe operating space for humanity, within which we have a good chance of keeping Earth in a stable state.”[3]

Sadly, as of 2023, it has been reported that “six of nine planetary boundaries are being crossed,” including the crucial changes in climate, biosphere integrity, biogeochemical flows, land system, novel entities, and freshwater.[4] Indeed, we are facing complex global crises.

The 2023 update to the Planetary boundaries. Credit: Azote for Stockholm Resilience Centre, based on analysis in Richardson et al 2023.

Should all planetary boundaries be treated equally? No! According to the framework of Stockholm Resilience Center, “There is a hierarchy. Climate and biodiversity boundaries are core boundaries: on their own, they can push Earth into a new state.

… Transgressing one or more of the non-core boundaries may severely affect human well-being and trigger the transgression of a core boundary, but they cannot … push the Earth system into a new state on their own.”[5]

Arguably, climate and biodiversity, as two core boundaries, are intimately connected: with the global warming phenomenon, other living species of the planet “will not be able to adapt quickly enough to the changes and will simply become extinct.”[6]

2. Pope Francis’ Response to Climate Crisis

The alarming state of our planet may have pushed Pope Francis to write two magisterial documents on climate crisis. He wants the Holy See to be a real player in the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Accordingly, the encyclical letter Laudato Si’ (LS) was published with the specific intention of influencing the Paris climate conference in 2015 (COP 21); the apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum (LD) was also intended to influence the COP 28 held in Dubai in 2023.

Many people were asking why Pope Francis had to write another magisterial document on climate crisis after eight years. His answer is implied in his remark in Laudate Deum: “I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point” (LD 2). What Pope Francis has not done in Laudato Si’ is to definitively declare the “necessary transition towards clean energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, and the abandonment of fossil fuels” (LD 55), since he is aware that until now, 80% of the world’s energy still comes from fossil fuels (LD 50).

Let us remember, however, that both magisterial teachings are primarily doxological documents and, hence, good materials for prayer. Unlike any other social encyclicals, praise frames their respective content. In fact, the very title of both documents (Praise be to You and Praise God) signals the vital place of right praise within our common home.

As Cardinal Peter Turkson noted, the “reference to St. Francis also indicates the attitude upon which the entire Encyclical is based, that of prayerful contemplation.” The two prayers at the encyclical’s end illustrate that the document “concludes, as it opened, in a spirit of prayerful contemplation.”[7]

TOMORROW: Fighting Anthropocentrism

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(Fr. Reynaldo D. Raluto has been serving as parish priest of Jesus Nazareno Parish in Libona, Bukidnon since 2021 and has been leading the Integral Ecology Ministry of the Diocese of Malaybalay since 2022. From 2011 to 2021, he served as Academic Dean of St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Cagayan de Oro where he also teaches fundamental/systematic theology and Catholic social teaching. Among his ecological advocacies are planting/growing Philippine native trees, mountain climbing, and active participation in the cultural and ecological activities of the Indigenous People Apostolate of the Diocese).

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[1] Stockholm Resilience Center, “All planetary boundaries mapped out for the first time, six of nine crossed.”(Sweden, 13 September 2023); https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2023-09-13-all-planetary-boundaries-mapped-out-for-the-first-time-six-of-nine-crossed.html

[2] Johan Rockström & Owen Gaffney, Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet (New York: DK Publishing, 2021), 75.

[3] Rockström & Gaffney, Breaking Boundaries, 76.

[4] See Katherine Richardson, Will Steffen, Wolfgang Lucht, et al., “Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries,” Science Advances 9 (September 13, 2023): 1-16, on pp. 2-9.

[5] Rockström & Gaffney, Breaking Boundaries, 88.

[6] Seán McDonagh, Climate Change: The Challenge to All of Us (Dublin: The Columba Press, 2006), 48.

[7] Peter Turkson, Conferenza Stampa per la presentazione della Lettera Enciclica «Laudato si’» del Santo Padre Francesco sulla cura della casa commune: Intervento del Card. Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, bulletin, June 18, 2015.