Climate Crisis and Biblical Ecological Readings in Pope Francis’s Writings

Abstrakt

The Climate Crisis is not just biological or physical; it also constitutes a value and spiritual crisis. Ecological reading of the Bible is a very recent approach that has entered the exegetical field practically from 2000 onwards. In recent decades, the Catholic Church, especially under the leadership of Pope Francis, is contributing with a proactive and urgent discourse to promote the value of nature and the global ecological commitment. This article analyzes and evaluates the current discourse of the Catholic Church, focusing our assessment especially on the ecological reading of three documents: Laudato Si´, Querida Amazonia and Laudate Deum, which present relevant convergences and divergences with the current trends in ecological hermeneutics. First, we address Francis’s ecological reading, articulating two main aspects: the creational and eschatological perspectives concerning the earth and the ecological debate. Finally, we offer some conclusions that invite an evaluative dialogue between Francis’s ecological reading and others of similar sensitivity and hermeneutics.