Inspiring the Ecological Mission of the American Catholic Church: Laudato Si’ at a Moment of Crisis and Hope

In the prepartory document for the Synod on the Amazon, I was struck by some of the marvelous, poetic, evocative phrases that express and contextualize the ecological vision of Pope Fran- cis. The document describes how the Amazon’s diversity “is a mirror of all humanity which, in defense of life, requires structural and personal changes by all human beings, by nations, and by the Church” (Amazonia: New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology, Preamble). It calls humanity to cultivate a “culture of encounter” (Pre- amble, quoting Evangelii Gaudium, no. 220) in which we “practice the art of listening” (no. 11, quoting Evangelii Gaudium, no. 171). The text speaks of Creation as a “holy ground” (Exodus 3:5) and a land with “a Mother” (no. 5) but now enslaved like Israel in Egypt (no. 8). From this document, we hear the call to be a holy church, a reverent church, a compassionate church, and an active church that encounters each local ecosystem (no. 15). As the document says, “Through a fo- cus on local realities and on the diversity of the region’s experiential microstructures, the Church is strengthened in its opposition to the globalization of indifference” (no. 12).

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