Thomasset, Alain

The search for a universal ethic in the Catholic tradition: The method of Laudato si’ - 2020.


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The Catholic tradition has always been concerned to retain a universal dimension in its ethical discourse. Historically, this theological reflection which seeks to address itself to all was primarily based on the notion of natural law, a concept that can be interpreted in two different ways. Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato si’ offers a new approach as well as a kind of test case, bringing together an adequate understanding of the ecological crisis, a vision of the desired response, a dialogue at all levels, and proposed spiritual resources. Such a dynamic process insists on the twofold necessity of a conversion of attitudes and a search for a consensus regarding our ways of being and our lifestyles. The encyclical underlines the role of religions and of wisdom traditions which offer “a spirituality capable of inspiring us” ( LS 216).