On Care for Our Common Home, Laudato Si': The Encyclical of Pope Francis on the Environment with Commentary by Sean McDonagh - (Paperback)

About the Book

One of the foremost Catholic proponents of ecological awareness provides an overview of the development of Catholic teaching on the environment up to the present, and offers a commentary on the Encyclical "Laudato Si" by Pope Francis, the full text of which appears in this volume.

Book Synopsis

Laudato Si, Pope Francis historic encyclical on the environment, was issued in 2015. As the first encyclical devoted entirely to the environment and related social justice issues, it represented a watershed in the church's engagement with such urgent challenges as climate change, environmental degradation, and the fate of the poor. This volume joins the full text of Laudato Si with reflections by Sean McDonagh, one of the foremost Catholic proponents of ecological awareness. Aside from reviewing the history of Catholic teaching and the environment, he elaborates on several of the specific themes in the encyclical climate change, biodiversity, water scarcity, the threats to the ocean, and the crisis of food. He concludes with prescriptions about what must be done to turn the popes vision into a program of effective action. Each of us has a role to play. As Pope Francis observes, All it takes is one good person to restore hope.

Review Quotes

"A comprehensive introduction to this landmark encyclical. McDonagh's analysis of key environmental problems will be indispensable to readers of all faiths."

-Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology

"For the long, hard transition to a just and sustainable way of life, Laudato Si' may well be the single most important spiritual and moral guide of our time. The reader's experience of the encyclical is here enhanced by the fine introduction from Fr. Sean McDonagh, himself a veteran leader of religious environmentalism with a liberation focus."

-Larry Rasmussen, Union Theological Seminary, NYC

"Exceptionally vivid, insightful, accessible, and authoritative. . . ."

-Christiana Zenner, author, Just Water

About the Author

Sean McDonagh, SSC, an Irish Columbian priest, is well known around the world as an eco-theologian who works to raise awareness of the connections between justice and peace issues, environmental sustainability, and faith. His books include Climate Change: The Challenge to All of Us, Greening the Christian Millennium, Care for the Earth, and Dying for Water.