3rd of 5 parts
(Third Talk delivered at the annual holy retreat of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines held 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)
6. The Ecological Anthropology of Laudato Si’
Let us revisit the ecological anthropology of Laudato Si’ by way of searching for its “adequate anthropology” that will serve as foundation for building a synodal Church and ecological community. But before doing that, it is instructive to know first the meaning of the term “ecological.” Often times, it has been presumed that everybody knows its meaning. For the lack of appropriate term, many times it is simply translated into Filipino language as “ekolohikal” or “ekolohikanhon.” Meriam-Webster Dictionary does not offer a straightforward definition but simply describes it as an adjective “relating to the science of ecology.” In any case, those descriptions and transliteration do not make sense unless we clearly know what ecology is.
In Laudato Si’, ecology is defined as the study of “the relationship between living organisms and the environment in which they develop” (LS 138). In this light, the term ecological has something to do with living organisms and the environment relationships. Since, in reality, they are interrelated, to see them separately is not ecological. In this sense, “ecological” becomes synonymous with what is “holistic.” Thus, we ought to look at things ecologically by seeing each one in relation to the whole, which is more than just the sum of its parts.[1]
6.1 Human Beings as Part of Nature
How should human being properly relate with the environment? Pope Francis, like Thomas Berry, rejects the modern anthropocentric perspective that places human beings above the rest of creation. Some even say that Pope Francis is already “moving closer to a fuller adoption of a cosmology of cosmogenesis.”[2] Although he clearly rejects the reductionist method of modern science,[3] it can be shown that he critically appropriated the best available ecological sciences, including today’s evolutionary perspective.[4] This is part of his search for “an adequate anthropology.”
In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis affirms that human being is “part of the world” (LS 78). In fact, this encyclical has several lines that affirm human beings’ kinship with other creatures using the language of evolutionary biology. For instance, it affirms that “we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements” (LS 2). It also acknowledges that “a good part of our genetic code is shared by many living beings” (LS 138). This recognition of similarities tries to overcome the anthropocentric tendency to exaggerate the sharp distinction between human and nonhuman creatures.
Moreover, in Laudate Deum, Pope Francis reaffirms that human beings are “part of nature, included in it and thus in constant interaction with it” (LD 25). But more than that, this apostolic exhortation significantly teaches something new which might be considered as an appropriation of the emerging cosmogenetic anthropology: “Human life, intelligence and freedom are elements of the nature that enriches our planet, part of its internal workings and its equilibrium” (LD 26). Arguably, this line can be interpreted as an affirmation of Berry’s view that humans are here for the perfection of Earth.
6.2 Human Being as Companion-Leader in the Journey
Like his predecessors, Pope Francis continues to privilege the role of the human in the fulfillment of God’s plan for creation. To highlight the unique importance of human accompaniment, Laudato Si’ maintains that, as personal beings “possessing a particular dignity above other creatures (LS 119),” humans should not be “considered as simply one being among others, the product of chance or physical determinism” (LS 118). With their unique human capacities, they are called by God to journey “hand in hand” with the rest of creation, “to protect it [the world] and develop its potential,” (LS 78) and to “lead all creatures back to their Creator” (LS 83).
Laudato Si’s reaffirmation of human agency is not simply a return to the excessive anthropocentrism of modernity. In fact, for Pope Francis, the “ultimate purpose of other creatures is not to be found in us [humans]” (LS 83). Other creatures exist not only for human needs; their existence is not even solely for the well-being of our planet that supports the community of life. Rather, they are our companions in the journey as “all creatures are moving forward with us and through us towards a common point of arrival, which is God, in that transcendent fullness where the risen Christ embraces and illumines all things” (LS 83). What a wonderful theocentric image of synodality with the whole creation!
In our synodality with creation, Richard Bauckham reminds us of the imperative to recognize the reality that “the creatures have their own relationships with God quite apart from humanity and fulfil their God-given existence without human interference.”[5] As we have shown, geological history has proven that other creatures can do without humans. On the contrary, humans cannot do without the other creatures. This reality humbly reminds us not to exaggerate the importance of human mediation in the creatures’ relationship with the Creator.
The young parishioners of Jesus Nazareno Parish in Libona, Bukidnon celebrated the Holy Mass at the peak of Santa Cruz Hill (about 2 km from the provincial highway of Libona) before doing the tree planting on September 9, 2022 to celebrate the Season of Creation. Photo courtesy of Fr. Reynaldo D. Raluto.
By their very existence, creatures unceasingly invites us to join them and assist us in praising God. As Pope Francis puts it: “When we can see God reflected in all that exists, our hearts are moved to praise the Lord for all his creatures and to worship him in union with them” (LS 87). Our unique capacities enable us to join with all creation in the common praise of God.
To overcome our anthropocentric tendency to exaggerate the importance of human language, the Bible testifies that there is an ongoing wordless divine praise in creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the works of his hands. Day unto day pours forth speech; night unto night whispers knowledge. There is no speech, no words; their voice is not heard. A report goes forth through all the earth, their messages, to the ends of the world” (Ps. 19:2-5). Indeed, the entire material universe “speaks of God’s love, his boundless affection for us” (LS 84). Creation is a non-verbal expression of the gospel.
At this point of our discussion, we cannot yet say that we have already sufficiently presented what Pope Francis calls “an adequate anthropology.” We still need to rethink the ecological anthropology in the light of the theology of the triune God in Laudato Si’.
TOMORROW: Inclusive Community as Image of the Relational Triune God
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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).
[1] On this usage of the term ecological, see David Keller and Frank Golley, “Afterword,” in David Keller and Frank Golley, eds., The Philosophy of Ecology: From Science to Synthesis (Athens: University of Georgia, 2000), 320.
[2] O’Hara, “Reframing Ecotheological Anthropology within a More Integral Ecology,” 149-150.
[3] See R. R. Reno, “The Return of Catholic Anti-Modernism,” First Things (June 18, 2015); https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2015/06/the-return-of-catholic-anti-modernism
[4] See Matthew Shadle “Evolution and Theological Anthropology in Laudato si’,” Catholic Moral Theology (June 22, 2015); https://catholicmoraltheology.com/evolution-and-theological-anthropology-in-laudato-si/
[5] Richard Bauckham, Living with Other Creatures: Green Exegesis and Theology (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2011), 152. For a different perspective, see John Zizioulas, The Eucharistic Communion and the World, edited by Luke Ben Tallon (New York: T&T Clark, 2011), 137.
