environment (released June 18), he addressed an even wider audience: everyone on this planet, not simply those aligned with his religious beliefs.
Using his broad platform, the Pope called on everyone to care more for the environment, referring to it as the common good. In his message, he focused on the moral concerns we should have for the environment. We have seen the effectiveness of policies and scientific knowledge on helping the environment but can the moral aspect be effective as well? Can it be more effective?
“Our goal is not to amass information or to satisfy curiosity, but rather to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it.”
The Pope’s approach on the environment is intriguing. He acknowledges the reality of climate change and pins its cause on humans. He acknowledges how humanity has impacted our environment, affecting our common home. He is prompting us to think and question and, perhaps, instilling a guilty conscience in us all.
Feeling guilty may well make us want to change our behavior. To be sure, guilt is a tricky motivator at best—too much of it causes us to give up or shut down. However, a measure of awareness in the form of guilt paired with real alternatives can lead us to take action.
We understand this motivator in our day-to-day interactions with others. For example, when we wrong another person, we tend to feel guilty and want to make it right. Surely, the earth is a living organism, and an enormous one at that. However, we tend to feel less connected to it in comparison to people. We interact with it every day yet we place more concern on human relationships than environmental ones. Now, however, this guilty conscience is being applied to the environment. We are being asked to think of the environment in a moral way, in the same way we think about each other.
“This implies a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature.”
In his encyclical, he is applying a concept of eco-guilt, or guilt from not meeting standards for behavior that aids the environment. In turn, this instilled guilty conscience calls us to act.
According to research, by framing environmental deterioration as human-caused, it makes us want to act in more environmentally friendly ways. These issues become more tangible for us. It puts these problems into perspective. The Pope has placed humans at the center of this issue: Our behavior has harmed our Earth; we are the problem and, yet, we are the solution.
Pope Francis’ morally framed message is one from which we can learn. Religious opinions aside, his encyclical has spoken on a global issue to his global audience. He has brought attention to this vital issue. This attention can only help progress our environment. Now it’s up to us, the common person, to protect our common home.
Nikole Baker is a PennFuture intern based in Pittsburgh.
Using his broad platform, the Pope called on everyone to care more for the environment, referring to it as the common good. In his message, he focused on the moral concerns we should have for the environment. We have seen the effectiveness of policies and scientific knowledge on helping the environment but can the moral aspect be effective as well? Can it be more effective?
“Our goal is not to amass information or to satisfy curiosity, but rather to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it.”
The Pope’s approach on the environment is intriguing. He acknowledges the reality of climate change and pins its cause on humans. He acknowledges how humanity has impacted our environment, affecting our common home. He is prompting us to think and question and, perhaps, instilling a guilty conscience in us all.
Feeling guilty may well make us want to change our behavior. To be sure, guilt is a tricky motivator at best—too much of it causes us to give up or shut down. However, a measure of awareness in the form of guilt paired with real alternatives can lead us to take action.
We understand this motivator in our day-to-day interactions with others. For example, when we wrong another person, we tend to feel guilty and want to make it right. Surely, the earth is a living organism, and an enormous one at that. However, we tend to feel less connected to it in comparison to people. We interact with it every day yet we place more concern on human relationships than environmental ones. Now, however, this guilty conscience is being applied to the environment. We are being asked to think of the environment in a moral way, in the same way we think about each other.
“This implies a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature.”
In his encyclical, he is applying a concept of eco-guilt, or guilt from not meeting standards for behavior that aids the environment. In turn, this instilled guilty conscience calls us to act.
According to research, by framing environmental deterioration as human-caused, it makes us want to act in more environmentally friendly ways. These issues become more tangible for us. It puts these problems into perspective. The Pope has placed humans at the center of this issue: Our behavior has harmed our Earth; we are the problem and, yet, we are the solution.
Pope Francis’ morally framed message is one from which we can learn. Religious opinions aside, his encyclical has spoken on a global issue to his global audience. He has brought attention to this vital issue. This attention can only help progress our environment. Now it’s up to us, the common person, to protect our common home.
Nikole Baker is a PennFuture intern based in Pittsburgh.
