2/19: The Power of Encounter
Hearing the Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor
Reading
Many professionals, opinion makers, communications media and centers of power, being located in affluent urban areas, are far removed from the poor, with little direct contact with their problems... This lack of physical contact and encounter, encouraged at times by the disintegration of our cities, can lead to a numbing of conscience and to tendentious analyses which neglect parts of reality… Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. (Laudato Si’, 2015, 49)
Reflection
It’s not long into Laudato Si’ that Pope Francis introduces the topic of environmental justice. In this context he’s referring to the global conversation on response to climate change, critiquing the reality that high-level global summits tend to center on the interests of high-earning industrial nations while marginalizing the interests of poorer countries from the Global South.
We can make sense of Pope Francis’s words for our own lives through his focus on encounter. Environmental problems are often so hard to address because we don’t fully understand their impact. We don’t see the effects every day because we are removed from the consequences. Can you see the landfill from your home? Is the oil spill on your commute to work? Do you see the ocean levels rising? Probably not.
We also live in a society where social problems are so complex and involve so many players that it’s easy to remove oneself from culpability. In Flint, Michigan, a community ravaged with debt made drastic cost-saving measures to switch the source of water from Lake Huron to the Flint River, resulting in catastrophic levels of lead leaching into the city’s water supply. This decision involved a multitude of governmental organizations, including the Mayor’s office, the EPA, HUD, water treatment facilities, the State of Michigan, and Governor’s Office — among probably many others. Yet at each step someone made a decision to ignore the reality of the problem and remove themselves from responsibility over the crisis. They lacked an encounter that would have communicated the gravity of this decision and come to understand the reality of those who were living with the consequences.
Encounter requires a different approach. We can no longer “numb our conscience” when it comes to decisions on our environment. We must encounter nature to understand what it is we are using and how we can become more careful stewards to prevent its destruction. We must encounter those who suffer the effects of environmental degradation the most, so that we do not turn a blind eye to the mess that we don’t see day-to-day and disproportionally place that burden on others.
Questions
- What are some of the environmental challenges facing my local community? What more do I need to find out, and how might I contribute to the solution?
- How might we make more equitable decisions about the effects of environmental degradation, in a way that ensure that the costs and benefits are born equally by all people?
Prayer
From todays’ reading:
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
— Matthew 25
