Posted on 06/18/2015 4:23:06 PM PDT by NYer
Before anything else… don’t just bash the new encyclical. Some people are having rancisull-fledged spittle-flecked nutties today. I suspect that some of them are people who are happy only when they are unhappy.
Dear readers… take a deep breath.
There are good things in it. Yes, there are bad things in it too. Pope’s don’t get all things right all the time. Sometimes Popes are… GASP… wrong, especially when they stray onto unfamiliar turf.
Also, let me say that Popes can and should write about the environment. It is the Pope’s job to explain the theological and spiritual dimensions of creation to the flock. Whether it falls to them to talk about predictive models for environmental changes…
A link to the official text of the encyclical HERE
Since you may see in the interwebs some serious bashing of the encyclical, I bring to your attention a couple good resources to help you digest Laudato si’ … if you chose to bother with it.
First, check out the resource page that Acton Institute has provided. HERE
The encyclical addresses issues that are solidly in Acton’s wheelhouse. You cannot find more thoughtful and better informed commentators than those who are around Acton.
Also, at Stream, check out this piece: 11 Things You Probably Won’t Hear about Pope Francis’ Encyclical
These are 11 good things in the encyclical… which is why you won’t hear about them in the MSM.
Each point of the following is explained in the piece with quotes gleaned directly from the encyclical. Here are the bullet points:
The official version of Pope Francis’ eco-encyclical Laudato Si was released this morning. While much of the media focus will be on the sections devoted to climate change and global warming, here are eleven things from the encyclical you probably won’t see in the headlines.
(1) Creation has a Creator, and is more than just “nature-plus-evolution”:
[…]
(2) Human ecology means recognizing and valuing the difference between masculinity and femininity:
[…]
(3) Jesus sanctifies human work:
[…]
(4) Look up from your phones and encounter each other:
[…]
(5) Save the baby humans:
[…]
(6) Helping the poor requires more than just handouts:
[…]
(7) Overpopulation is not the problem:
[…]
(8) True ecology requires true anthropology and respect for human dignity:
[…]
(9) Real change requires a change in culture, not just politics:
[…]
(10) The Church does not presume to settle scientific questions, and we need an honest and open debate:
[…]
(11) Stop with the cynicism, secularism and immorality:
[…]
What the Stream piece does is emphasize the letter’s strengths. That’s important for you to know. Perhaps you might want to your look at the encyclical by reading the paragraphs the Stream piece provides before moving to a reading of the whole thing… if you bother with that. I’m not saying that you should, by they way.
There are some things in the encyclical that don’t make the list of the 11 good points. They are the less good things. Some of them will obtain nearly infinite attention from the MSM and liberal catholics. There are a few things in the encyclical that are face-palm inducing, such as the section on how we should not use air conditioners. The theme of North v South is tired and pretty much wrong (clue: Australia is in the South and Russia is in the North). The emphasis on predictive models is, it seems to me, a mistake. Time and again predictive models wind up being wrong. Blaming markets and wealth for environmental problems seems absurd to me. Most Popes don’t, can’t, write everything they issue. They rely on ghost writers. I think the Pope needs a new staff. The document isn’t all that coherent, across its sections.
Anyway… my point here is not to pick on the document. There may be time for that later. The point of this is to guide to some of the better aspects of the encyclical so that you are not immediately turned off to it because of the wiggy meltdowns some are going to have.
Ping!
papa loco
Mark 14:7
John 12:8
Three other articles on the topic can be found here if
anyone is interested in reading the comments.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/search?m=all;o=time;q=quick;s=laudato
Matthew 26:11
Mark 14:7
John 12:8
It wouldn’t be so bad if his right hand man on climate change didn’t want only 1 billion people on the planet.
BTT
I have nothing but respect for Fr. John Zuhlsdorf. And I don’t like to criticize the Pope—whoever he happens to be.
But, although it’s good to hear that there are plenty of good things in this extremely lengthy treatise, what does it all add up to? What’s the point? That’s a question I’d like to hear answered. These defenses just go to show that the encyclical seems to wander all over the place.
Most encyclicals tackle a subject that is of current interest in the Church. Contraception, for instance, when that was an issue. Unless someone says differently, it sounds as if this encyclical is pretty much “Look at me! I’m Pope Francis, and I can talk, and talk, and talk!”
Pope needs to mind his own business and clean up his church before he meddles in affairs he has no business meddling in.
Furthermore....he’s carry the water for the Globalist Agenda....in more ways then just global warming. HE’s going to lead his flock right over the cliff before he’s said and done.
I need the Cliff Notes on that. Too wordy.
Hey he just wants to kill off 6 billion people or so. Or at least, that would fulfill his Gaia wishes.
It is nice that there are positive things in the encyclical, but the problem is that, especially in the US, the squishy middle of American society will not hear them. This group of moderates and “undecided” voters obtain most of their news and information from venues like The Daily Show, daytime chat shows, sit coms, and maybe an evening news broadcast. None of those media outlets will mention the points that are mentioned in the article; instead, those outlets will push the theme that evil rich b@st@rds are frying the planet because they hate the poor (or some variation thereof).
Bump
humans suck!!!!
how many of every other species should there be? I bet if every country was capitalistic and modern, we could hold 12 billion with no problem.
Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
This thing will eventually culminate in the rise of the Antichrist and the False Prophet who demands worship for him, or else.
Or else your head is cut off.
How far we have sunk when the Pope saying “you should not kill babies” and “God created the world” are now seen as examples of “Good News”.
+1. And why 184 pages for something that should be taught anyway? Pope Clown I
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.