Abstract
This article explores certain aspects related to the environmental ethical message in the Encyclical Letter Laudato si, written in 2015 by Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church, and compares them to recent Green party political movements in Italy. Italy offers a unique case study in that the religious background of the country acts as an independent variable with respect to the social acceptance of current environmental issues. The ethical message in Laudato sì is compared to recent debates on the moral responsibility of the individual and/or institution towards environmental problems; a range of responsibilities assumed by institutions versus individuals with regards to environmental problems are analyzed. In conclusion, parallels are made between the abovementioned ethical debate and the ethical contents of the Encyclical Letter.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ANSA. (2009). Zaia chiede una precisa posizione della Chiesa prima di decidere sugli Ogm, 22 December 2009. http://www.newsfood.com/zaia-chiede-una-precisa-posizione-della-chiesa-prima-di-decidere-sugliogm/#sthash.mqGF7fpW.dpuf. Accessed January 2016.
Armandi, M. (2006). La lezione di Aldo Leopold e le prospettive in Italia dell’etica ambientale. Silvae. Anno II – n.6.
Bernardi, E. (2014). Il Mais “miracoloso”. Edizioni Carocci.
Bianchi, D., Della Seta R., (a cura di). (2014). Ambiente in Europa. Ambiente Italia 2014 (p. 123). Rapporto annuale di Legambiente, Edizioni Ambiente.
Bompan, E., Ferraris S., (a cura di). (2016). Il Mondo dopo Parigi. L’Accordo sul clima visto dall’Italia: prospettive, criticità e opportunità. Edizioni Ambiente, Milano, p. 75.
Ercolini, R. (2014). Non bruciamo il futuro (p. 18). Milano: Garzanti.
Franco, L. (2014). Legambiente? Una lobby economico-politica. L’accusa degli altri ambientalisti. Il fatto quotidiano, 10 June 2014. http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2014/06/10/legambiente-una-lobby-economico-politica-laccusa-degli-altri-ambientalisti/1003687.pdf. Accessed September 2015.
La Civiltà Cattolica. (2015). Custodire l’Intera Creazione. Un servizio del Vescovo di Roma. II, 537–551. http://www.laciviltacattolica.it/articoli_download/extra/Editoriale-ITA.pdf. Accessed September 2015.
Larivera, L. (2015). Religioni e crisi ecologica. La Civiltà Cattolica. Quaderno 3960, II (537–640), 579–591.
Livingstone, M. (2016). Religione ed impegno per il clima tra l’Enciclica “Laudato sì” e la Conferenza di Parigi. La Civiltà Cattolica. Quaderno 3973, I (3–104), 30–44.
McKenzie, J. (2012). Steel pollution case highlights Italy’s slow decline. Reuters Edition, August 29, 2012. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/29/us-italypollutionidUSBRE87S07B20120829. Accessed September 2015.
Meyer, H. E. (1995). I pioneri dell’ambiente. L’avventura del movimento ecologista italiano-Cento anni storia. Milano: Edizioni Carabà.
Morandini, S. (2015). Laudato Sì. Un’enciclica per la terra (p. 16). Assisi: Cittadella Editrice.
Nebbia, G. (2002). La primavera dell’ecologia. Villaggio globale, 5(17), 18–21.
Nebbia, G. (2007). Storia dell’ecologia e dell’ambiente. http://it.scribd.com/doc/35531/Storia-della-ecologia-e-dell-ambiente#scribd.pdf. Accessed September 2015.
Nihlén, Fahlquist. J. (2009). Moral responsibility for environmental problems—Individual or institutional? Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 22, 109–124.
Pope Benedict XVI. (2010). Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the celebration of the World Day of Peace 2010. Copyright 2009—Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City, Rome. http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedictxvi/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_benxvi_mes_20091208_xliii-world-day-peace.pdf. Accessed September 2015.
Pope Francis. (2015). Encyclical Letter Laudato sì of the Holy Father Francis on care for our common home. Vatican Press, Vatican City Rome. http://w2.vatican.va/content/dam/francesco/pdf/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si_en.pdf. Accessed November 2015.
Papa Paolo VI. (1971). Octogesima Adveniens. 80° Anniversario dell’Enciclica Rerum Novarum. Copyright—Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano, Rome. http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/it/apost_letters/documents/hf_p-vi_apl_19710514_octogesima-adveniens.pdf. Accessed September 2015.
Pope John Paul II. (1991). Centesimus annus. Enciclycal Letter. Copyright—Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City Rome. http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jpii_enc_01051991_centesimus-annus.pdf. Accessed September 2015.
Pope John Paul II. (1997). Address of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to conference on Environment and Health. Copyright 1997—Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano, Rome. http://w2.vatican.va/content/johnpaulii/en/speeches/1997/march/documents/hf_jpii_spe_19970324_ambientesalute.pdf. Accessed September 2015.
Spadaro, A. (2015). «Laudato sì» Guida alla lettura dell’enciclica di papa Francesco. La Civiltà Cattolica. Quaderno 3961, III (3–104), 1–13.
White, L. (1974). The historical roots of our ecological crisis. http://www.uvm.edu/~gflomenh/ENV-NGOPA395/articles/Lynn-White.pdf. Accessed October 2015.
Wright, E. O. (2015). Sociological limitations of the climate change encyclical. Nature Climate Change, 5, 902–903.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Orioli, L. Laudato sì and the New Paradigm of Catholic Environmental Ethics: Reflections on Environmentalist Movements in Italy. J Agric Environ Ethics 29, 931–943 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-016-9639-2
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-016-9639-2