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Today the text of Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato si” has been officially released. Media readers have certainly noticed that this encyclical was accompanied by controversy from the very beginning. First, some people didn’t like the Hollywood-style movie trailer in which Francis is portrayed as Gandalf the White from The Lord of the Rings. Whoever has not watched the trailer yet, can watch it on YouTube www.youtube.com/watch
Someone else (suspected personhttp: //www.ye from the Vatican, hostile to the line carried out by Francis) a few days before the publication had a truly devilish idea and published the text of one of the Italian newspapers. A leak of this kind has not yet happened in the history of the Vatican. Vaticanists say the document leak was intended to weaken Francis. Others talk about a possible controlled leak which was simply a marketing move.
The editor of Rzeczpospolita aroused no less emotions, describing the encyclical as “anti-Polish”. The public did not like the fact that the Pope raised the issue of hard coal mining and the related environmental degradation. This statement, as Konrad Sawicki reported on his blog, was quietly accepted by some priests and Catholic journalists.
From today everyone can check what the encyclical is about and what topics it deals with. Its text is available here www.deon.pl/religia/serwis-papieski/dokumenty/encykliki-franciszek/art,11,encyklika-pochwalony-badz.html
Since I had the opportunity to attend the official presentation of this document in the Secretariat of the Polish Episcopate, I decided to share with the readers what I heard at the conference. The presentation was attended by:
Archbishop Celestino Migliore – Apostolic Nuncio in Poland
O. prof. Stanisław Jaromi OFM conv. chairman of the Ecological Movement of St. Francis of Assisi REFA
Dr hab. Eng. Zbigniew Karaczun – prof. WULS-SGGW, associate professor at WULS-SGGW – Head of the Management and Technologies for Sustainable Development specialization at the Interdepartmental Study of Environmental Protection
O. Stanisław Tasiemski OP – theologian
The whole thing was moderated by Marcin Przeciszewski – president of the Catholic Information Agency.
The conference was very popular. It was attended by numerous journalists from national media as well as people actively involved and interested in the protection of the environment and nature.
The first speaker was Archbishop Celestino Migliore. He emphasized that Francis’ encyclical was not something revolutionary, but a continuity in the teaching of the Church. He recalled that the previous popes, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, dealt with topics on the border of ecology. The latter was even nicknamed the “green pope” (due to the installation of solar batteries in the Vatican buildings).
Father Stanisław Jaromi told more about the encyclical. Already at the beginning he indicated that he was happy and grateful to the Pope for a beautiful, Franciscan encyclical. He presented the titles of documents that previously touched upon the topic of ecology, including the teachings of popes, religious orders, and local church initiatives. Father Jaromi instructed the readers of the encyclical to note how often Pope Francis refers to documents of local churches. While writing the encyclical, Pope Francis was inspired by the teachings of the ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew I. According to Stanisław Jaromi, Father Francis redefines the place of man in the world and his responsibility for the world. She draws attention to the interdependence between the condition of the world and human poverty. Father Jaromi hopes that the great success of this encyclical will be to overcome the stereotype that there is a contradiction between the good of man and the good of nature. According to the Franciscan, there is no such contradiction.
The encyclical begins with the Hymn of Creation, written by St. Francis of Assisi and concludes with the Song of the Creation of Pope Francis. The Pope refers to St. Francis very often. Therefore, this encyclical can be called Franciscan. Father Jaromi describes the Pope’s encyclical as a letter to all people of good will, an invitation to talk about the shape of the world in which we live. The picture of the world outlined by Pope Francis is dynamic, open, evolutionary, affirmative, not directed against anyone. The Pope is against the technocratic paradigm related to obsessive consumerism.
According to dr hab. Zbigniew Karaczan, the encyclical Laudato Si is an extremely complex document, dealing with all the most important problems of environmental protection. These include diminishing access to water resources and biodiversity. According to Karachan, it is immoral to get rich at the expense of future generations or to use raw materials in an unlimited way. According to the scientist, the responsibility for the environment mentioned in the encyclical, of those people who make political decisions, is very important.
A Dominican priest, Father Tasiemski, pointed out that in Poland politics functions in the phases from elections to elections. Meanwhile, concern for the environment goes beyond what is visible in a single term of office. He recalled that Benedict XVI claimed that there is no good ecology without proper anthropology. He criticized some environmentalists who object to biological research on animals and who accept embryo experiments in the case of humans. It is impossible to reconcile nature conservation with justifying abortion. According to Tasiemski, the pope sharply criticizes the culture of relativism, which is directed against the natural environment (excessive consumption). When talking about human ecology, man has to accept himself – his own body. He rejects the concept of gender. Knowing your own femininity or masculinity is necessary to be able to recognize yourself in meeting others.
Journalists asked, among others for the anti-Polishness of the encyclical. The panellists tried to defend the Pope, explaining that the encyclical did not call for the closure of Polish mines, but for the wise use of technologies that do not harm the environment. Father Tasiemski referred to the problem of the devastating coal mining policy in Silesia, which led to geological disasters and limited urban development.
Some guests had questions about the possibility of effective implementation of the encyclical. From Father Jaromi’s response, I got the impression that the Church did not really have an idea for environmental education, or for systemic implementation and teaching of the content of Laudato si. Possible ecological organizations operating in the Polish Church are few and insignificant. It is known that further conferences on the new encyclical are planned. The next one is to be held in October at UKSW.
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