Environmental Justice and Climate Change

Readers will surely share the editors' hope that the environmental concern of Benedict XVI, developed from similar concerns of John Paul II, will be further advanced by Pope Francis. . . .In these pages, those who still need convincing should discover environmental concern at the heart of Catholic life and thought. * Peace and Justice Studies *
The strength of Catholic environmental theology, ethics, and activism is that it is solidly rooted in sacred Wisdom — ever ancient, yet ever new. The magisterial and ecological vision of Benedict XVI (formerly Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Emeritus) more than any modern theologian captures the depth and breadth of that treasure. For anyone who wishes to anchor their environmental justice and climate change work in the Catholic faith, these twelve essays are a must read. Each author draws deeply from Benedict’s rich insights, embedded in sources little know to ordinary folks, and in down to earth language offers them to us to enrich, inspire, empower, and mobilize us to “cultivate peace, protect creation.” -- Dawn M. Nothwehr, Catholic Theological Union
This important scholarly anthology offers Catholic readers, and all persons of good will, a powerful analysis of Pope Benedict XVI’s insights regarding the human person, the common good, and the needs of future generations. Examining Pope Benedict XVI’s authoritative call to respond to the ecological crisis with “the urgency of a solidarity which embraces time and space,” the contributors engage the profound sources of the Catholic theological, philosophical, spiritual, and ethical traditions to deepen our understanding of the critical questions that climate change poses to faith and ethics. With incisive critiques of modernity, markets, and culture, the authors affirm Catholic social teaching regarding the universal destination of created goods and the common good which extends outward to the cosmos. Engaging a range of interdisciplinary discourses, the articles fluidly navigate both new thinking and classic intellectual categories to frame constructive responses to Benedict's imperative call for environmental responsibility as promulgated in Caritas et Veritate.   In sum, the volume explores the challenging implications of Catholic social teaching, and testifies to a compelling vision of creation as a community that reveals, reflects, and shares God’s truth and love. -- Erin Lothes Biviano, College of Saint Elizabeth
This anthology is a focused examination of Benedict XVI's thought on our ecological situation. In both appreciation of how Benedict promoted an ecological sensitivity in the Catholic community and in pointing readers toward future developments that ought to occur, the various authors demonstrate insight, creativity, and a theological vision for the church. Essays like the ones in this volume are the building blocks for a Catholic approach to the environment that is theologically grounded and spiritually rich. -- Kenneth R. Himes, OFM, Boston College