Laudato Si….Too Much of a Good Thing?

Last updated on: June 23, 2015 at 8:07 am by Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Laudato Si….Too Much of a Good Thing? 2015-06-23T08:07:38-05:00 Fr. Dwight Longenecker

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

There’s an amusing scene in the film Amadeus in which Mozart asks the rather dim witted Emperor if he likes the opera Mozart has just performed for the first time.

The Emperor ponders for a moment and tries to pin down what he doesn’t like about the work and finally waves his hand dismissively and says, “It has too many notes.”

I must confess that my first impression of Pope Francis’ new encyclical is much the same….”it has too many words”

The problem with Laudato Si is that there is far too much detail. I appreciated the theme he repeated time and again, “Everything is connected”….but did he have to include everything?

He really should have hired a good editor. This is not just a writer’s grumble. It’s important to deliver your message succinctly and powerfully and the pope’s encyclical rambled on and on and on like one of those interminable sermons where the preacher just got up and started speaking.

Consequently, the danger is that the main thrust of his argument will be lost. Eyes glaze over. Deep sighs are heard and nobody reads to the end.

I did persevere to the end, but even so, I was only skimming.

But here’s what I liked about the encyclical. I liked the fresh approach to the ecology question. I liked very much the Holy Father’s passion for connecting the ecology question to our treatment of the poor, the vulnerable, immigrants and the unborn. I also liked the “small is beautiful” emphasis when he was discussing economics. I really liked the mystical aspects to his teaching–where he waxed poetical about the beauty and connectedness of all things. This pointed to the unified vision that all mystics share in which they see the one ness of all things. I think this was the greatest contribution to the debate and a fitting one for a spiritual leader.

I think when the pope started discussing details of global warming, economic systems and political systems he was on shakier ground. Each one of these area are extraordinarily complicated and while I’m not an expert on these matters I got the impression that the pope is not either, and I felt he may well have been repeating popular talking points which may not hold up when examined closely

The whole matter of ecosystems and their relation to energy consumption and economics is extraordinarily complex. So, for example, it’s easy for people to say we should re-cycle more, but then we learn that the re-cycling process is more expensive and uses more energy than the manufacture of new stuff. It’s easy to think that electric cars solve the use of fossil fuels until we learn that even more fossil fuels are burnt to produce the electricity to run the electric cars…

My worry is that the Holy Father and his advisors were in over their head, and if I’m right, I hope it didn’t dissuade the experts from listening to the Pope’s more significant comments. When he was dealing with the large, theological, spiritual and philosophical points he was spot on.

The need for human centered development, the need to check our greed and consumerism, the need to be concerned with the whole human family and the whole planet is vital.

If only the encyclical would have been half the length–been punchy and more to the point.

A few further comments about the reactions to the pope’s encyclical: Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 19, 2015

England and Italy Round Up

Next Post

June 23, 2015 The Hand of St Etheldreda

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anglican Matters Apologetics Architecture Blobble Study Book Reviews Brideshead Caitlin O'Rourke Catholic Art Catholic Culture Church Politics Chust for Nice Contemporary Culture Duane Mandible Ed Blanch Film Reviews Fr Harvey Nicolaitan Frank Viola Mantilla the Hon More Christianity Mrs Brady Catholic Old Lady Mystery of the Magi Norman Anderson Queen Hillary Saints and Supernatural Spirituality The Inklings The Vicar Theology Todd Unctuous Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz