The relationship between man and the environment is crucial in our contemporary times. Pope Francis made an urgent appeal to seriously “protect our common home” (Laudato Si, no. 13).  Human life is connected with the different forms of relationships happening in the world as well as it is connected with the non-human elements in the world. Due to the troubling concerns of the environments, theologians and missiologists had faced the challenges of the current issues regarding “our common home” and through it there emerged new theologies such us ecotheology and ecomissiology in relation to the current condition of our environment. Nevertheless, Pope Francis emphasized on a consciousness and direction of our mission and it is towards integral ecology. Let us discuss the basic truths regarding the mission of the church in the care for the environment.

1. The relationship between integral ecology and full human development. There is an integral relationship between the environment and living the fullness of human development. Any form of integral relationship that is broken is usually linked to the reality of sin. The weakness of man through sin leads man to broken relationships, destruction of life, irresponsible existence, and isolation. There are implications on this:

a) sin as the root of the harm that is brought to the earth. Because of sin, Pope Francis said: “This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life” (Laudato Si, no. 2). Full human development would be dependent on the rejection of sin, inner conversion, and the concern for the environment as our common home. Pope Francis quoted Patriarch Bartholomew who commented on the root of the damage on creation. The Patriarch said: “For human beings… to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation; for human beings to degrade the integrity of the earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the earth of its natural forests or destroying its wetlands; for human beings to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life – these are sins”. For “to commit a crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin against God” (Laudato Si, no.8).

b) the earth is counted among those who are poor and isolated. If sin breaks relationships between God and man as well as between human persons themselves, sin has also isolated man from creation. As a result, the environment suffers from these broken relationships. It is the mission of God and the Church to repair broken relationships. We remember Jesus who commissioned his disciples to “proclaim the Gospel to all creation” (Mk 16:15). It is the Gospel that could bring that relationship back to its proper dignity. Sin has to be rejected at all costs because it has not only destroyed human lives, it has now extended to destroy God’s creation. “This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters” (Laudato Si, no. 2).

c) building relationship between man and environment is part of an ongoing missionary renewal. Pope Francis and his predecessors viewed dialogue between man and environment as one of the most integral dialogical concerns of the Church today. The Pope said: “I wrote to all the members of the Church with the aim of encouraging ongoing missionary renewal. In this Encyclical, I would like to enter into dialogue with all people about our common home” (Laudao Si, no. 3). Thus, the restoration of the relationship between man and environment, the stewardship towards creation, the interdependence between man and environment are missiological concerns that should not be taken for granted. Pope Francis quoted John Paul II who “warned that human beings frequently seem “to see no other meaning in their natural environment than what serves for immediate use and consumption” (Laudato Si, no. 5).

2. The causes of harm made to our common home is ethical and spiritual in nature. At the heart of our reflection regarding the care for the environment as well as the destruction that is happening, we find the human being. He is the subject who received creation as a gift from God and therefore one of the primordial missions he has is to be a steward of gift and not its destroyer. “The destruction of the human environment is extremely serious, not only because God has entrusted the world to us men and women, but because human life is itself a gift which must be defended from various forms of debasement” (Laudato Si, no. 5). When we say that the care for the earth is ethical in nature, it is because:

a) it involves lifestyles. The quality of life and the kind of life we live have ethical implications. Pope Francis says: “Every effort to protect and improve our world entails profound changes in “lifestyles, models of production and consumption, and the established structures of power which today govern societies.” Authentic human development has a moral character. It presumes full respect for the human person, but it must also be concerned for the world around us and “take into account the nature of each being and of its mutual connection in an ordered system” (Laudato Si, no. 5);

b) it is caused by irresponsible behavior. Benedict XVI says that we cannot speak about reflecting and analyzing the world by its parts but in its totality. He said: “He observed that the world cannot be analyzed by isolating only one of its aspects, since “the book of nature is one and indivisible”, and includes the environment, life, sexuality, the family, social relations, and so forth. It follows that “the deterioration of nature is closely connected to the culture which shapes human coexistence” (Laudato Si, no. 6);

c) it involves eternal and absolute truths to guide humankind. Eternal truths will always include moral truths and they are supposed to guide human actions but for Benedict XVI it seems man does not anymore recognize nor follow these truths that eventually witness their effects: the forms of destruction of the “common home.” He said: “Pope Benedict asked us to recognize that the natural environment has been gravely damaged by our irresponsible behavior. The social environment has also suffered damage. Both are ultimately due to the same evil: the notion that there are no indisputable truths to guide our lives, and hence human freedom is limitless (Laudato Si, no. 6).

When we say that the abuse and the irresponsible relationship with the world involves spiritual implications, Pope Francis meant:

a) man forgets about God. The care for the earth is the vocation of man. Man’s responsible use of his freedom has to be manifested on how he cares for the environment entrusted to his care. When man forgets God who placed him to the care of the environment but becomes self-centered, the environment will be one of the victims of his pride, greed, selfishness, and irresponsibility. Pope Francis explained what Benedict XVI said: “We have forgotten that “man is not only a freedom which he creates for himself. Man does not create himself. He is spirit and will, but also nature.” With paternal concern, Benedict urged us to realize that creation is harmed “where we ourselves have the final word, where everything is simply our property and we use it for ourselves alone. The misuse of creation begins when we no longer recognize any higher instance than ourselves, when we see nothing else but ourselves” (Laudato Si, no. 6).

b) other religions are concerned about the deterioration of creation. Pope Francis mentioned that it is not only the Catholic Church who is concerned about the problems concerning the environment, but it is even other religions’ concern. He said: “Outside the Catholic Church, other Churches and Christian communities – and other religions as well – have expressed deep concern and offered valuable reflections on issues which all of us find disturbing.” (Laudato Si, no. 7).

3. The Importance of Interior Conversion in the Preservation of the Environment. If the ecological crisis the world is experiencing today is an ethical and spiritual issue, then at the deepest level we find interior conversion at the core its rejuvenation. Christianity can contribute to the restoration of the environment. Its doctrine, spirituality and mission can help in leading the path towards ecological conversion.

a) Anthropological Dimension. Ecological crises had been caused by man’s irresponsible use and abuse of creation, then the restoration of the environment has to begin with man himself.

i. Christian Anthropology. Man has been entrusted by God to care and have “dominion” and not master it wrongly. A correct understanding of Christian anthropology will ultimately help man’s role in creation. Pope Francis said: “An inadequate presentation of Christian anthropology gave rise to a wrong understanding of the relationship between human beings and the world (Laudato Si, no. 116).

ii. Ecology and Anthropology. Ecology cannot prescind from the understandings of anthropology. In considering the problems of the environment, we have to take the current and future of humanity. If one desires to renew the environment, he has to begin with man who is steward and at the same time the beneficiary of the environment. Pope Francis said: “There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself. There can be no ecology without an adequate anthropology.” (Laudato Si, no.118).

         iii. Interpersonal relationship. Man by nature is a social being. He is influenced by culture and the society. Therefore, when one considers human existence as interconnected with other aspects of society especially other human beings then the wrong understanding of anthropocentrism diminishes. Pope Francis commented saying: “When the human person is considered as simply one being among others, the product of chance or physical determinism, then “our overall sense of responsibility wanes” (Laudato Si, 118). The Pope continued to say that if the environment has to be healed, healing should come first from healing of relationships and “we cannot presume to heal our relationship with nature and the environment without healing all fundamental human relationships. Christian thought sees human beings as possessing a particular dignity above other creatures; it thus inculcates esteem for each person and respect for others (Laudato Si, no.119).

b) Spiritual Dimension. The care for the environment requires a specific spirituality. The desire for healing of the environment requires a spirituality that involves relationship with the environment.

         a) St. Francis of Assisi. Pope Francis sets St. Francis of Assisi as a model, guide, and intercessor for all us as we seek to establish integral ecology and heal our environment. The saint was close to creation and expressed the true love of creation. The Pope inspires us saying: 1) “I believe that Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically. 2) He is the patron saint of all who study and work in the area of ecology, and he is also much loved by non-Christians. 3) He was particularly concerned for God’s creation and for the poor and outcast. 4) He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness. 5) He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. 6) He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace” (Laudato Si, no. 10).

         b) Ecological Spirituality. The care for the environment needs a specific spirituality that will sustain one’s mission towards creation. Pope Francis suggests an ecological spirituality that is rooted in the Christian faith. He said: “Here, I would like to offer Christians a few suggestions for an ecological spirituality grounded in the convictions of our faith, since the teachings of the Gospel have direct consequences for our way of thinking, feeling and living” (Laudato Si, 216). Pope Francis enumerated the elements in the nature of this spirituality: 1) it is a spirituality that is grounded in the gospel and the convictions of our faith; 2) a spirituality that can motivate us to a more passionate concern for the protection of our world; 3) A commitment this lofty cannot be sustained by doctrine alone, without a spirituality capable of inspiring us, without an “interior impulse which encourages, motivates, nourishes and gives meaning to our individual and communal activity”.

         c) Wisdom and Dignity. Man’s relationship with creation is a vocation from God. The story of creation has to be understood and taken as a whole. In the divine wisdom, God created man and his dignity is revealed through his relationship with creation and God. “In the first creation account in the Book of Genesis, God’s plan includes creating humanity. After the creation of man and woman, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good” (Gen 1:31). The Bible teaches that every man and woman is created out of love and made in God’s image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26). This shows us the immense dignity of each person, “who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons.” Saint John Paul II stated that the special love of the Creator for each human being “confers upon him or her an infinite dignity” (Laudato Si, no. 65).

         d) Contemplation. The preservation of the environment will find its meaning and purpose when we contemplate man as created in the image of God. “Our insistence that each human being is an image of God should not make us overlook the fact that each creature has its own purpose” (Laudato Si, no. 84). Therefore, the environment should not be taken as a separate reality but to be contemplated as part of human life and the goodness of God. In the world, we cannot separate man from creation nor we could separate the world from the goodness of God. The world is in the hands of God. In fact, “The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, his boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God” (Laudato Si, no. 84).

         e) Communion. To think about the story of creation where God placed everything in the world as He desired, speaks of the source of creation flowing from the One loving God. Therefore, there is only one God who revealed his goodness to the world and he desires that all creatures be in communion with Him and with the rest of creation. Creation should not be a source of greed and selfishness but instead the venue for altruism and communion. A destruction of one will be the destruction of all and the communion of one will be a prelude towards a communion of all. “All of us are linked by unseen bonds and together form a kind of universal family, a sublime communion which fills us with a sacred, affectionate and humble respect” (Laudato Si, no. 89). As human beings, we should be in communion with each other if we speak with being in communion with creation. The environment suffers when human persons are not in communion with one another. “A sense of deep communion with the rest of nature cannot be real if our hearts lack tenderness, compassion and concern for our fellow human beings. It is clearly inconsistent to combat trafficking in endangered species while remaining completely indifferent to human trafficking, unconcerned about the poor, or undertaking to destroy another human being deemed unwanted” (Laudato Si, no. 91).

         f) Harmony. One of the experiences we learn from St. Francis of Assisi was his life in harmony with creation. His simplicity of life and prayer life were all about communion and harmony with the environment and God. The rupture between man and God and man with nature should find its healing in the example of St. Francis. “It is significant that the harmony which Saint Francis of Assisi experienced with all creatures was seen as a healing of that rupture” (Laudato Si, no. 66). However, we should not forget that Jesus is the source of all harmony. Pope Francis reminds us: “Jesus lived in full harmony with creation, and others were amazed: “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” (Mt 8:27). His appearance was not that of an ascetic set apart from the world, nor of an enemy to the pleasant things of life (Laudato Si, no. 98).

c) Ethical Dimension. The damage we have done to the environment and the restoration that has to be done have ethical value. The environmental crisis is the measuring rod in evaluating the moral crisis of the world today. Pope Francis says that the “environmental deterioration and human and ethical degradation are closely linked” (Laudato Si, no. 56).

         a) Private and Social property. Private property is always an inviolable right. It is an inalienable right of the human person. Yet what is happening to the world? It appears that private property has turned into a venue of greed instead of being at the service of the common good. “The principle of the subordination of private property to the universal destination of goods, and thus the right of everyone to their use, is a golden rule of social conduct and “the first principle of the whole ethical and social order”. The Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute or inviolable, and has stressed the social purpose of all forms of private property” (Laudato Si, no. 93).

         b) Non-Christian Anthropocentrism. Anthropocentrism is a concept or worldview that places man at the center of the universe. A Christian anthropocentrism is a worldview that views man as a Christian and his relationship with the universe and all forms of life connected with him. The Christian worldview is characterized as relational and connected. It is differentiated from a “misguided anthropocentrism” (Laudato Si, no. 118). A misguided anthropocentrism is one that is individualistic, selfish, and mark by forms of greed. Pope Francis describes it saying: “A misguided anthropocentrism leads to a misguided lifestyle” (Laudato Si, no. 122).