Ecological Footprints: Catholic Environmental Ethics in A Franciscan Key Dawn M. Nothwehr, OSF, Ph. D. The Erica and Harry John Family Chair in

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1 Ecological Footprints: Catholic Environmental Ethics in A Franciscan Key Dawn M. Nothwehr, OSF, Ph. D. The Erica and Harry John Family Chair in Catholic Theological Ethics Catholic Theological Union Chicago, IL 60615

2 His highest aim, and foremost desire, and greatest intention was to pay heed to the Holy Gospel in all things and through all things, to follow the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to retrace his footprints completely with all vigilance and all zeal and all desire of his soul and all the fervor of his heart. The Life of St. Francis by Thomas of Celano ( ), bk. I, chap. I, 88.

3 His whole aim, in public and in private, was to reproduce in himself and in others those footprints of Christ which had been covered over and forgotten. The Tree of the Crucified Life of Jesus, Book Five (Excerpts), by Umbertino DaCasale (1305), chap. III, 54.

4 Ecological Footprints

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6 Ecological offenses a new form of social sin Clear Church Teaching

7 Franciscan Holy Land

8 Giovanni Francesco di Bernadone

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12 Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed 325 / 381 C.E. We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty; maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father. one in Being with the Father, through him all things were made. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.

13 Ecological Footprints: Catholic Environmental Ethics in A Franciscan Key Introduction Use of Sacred Scripture & Other Sources I. Francis and His Followers as Resources for Christian Environmental Ethics II. Living the Incarnation A. Francis Inspiration for Environmental Ethics B. Primacy of Christ III. Trinity: God as Relationship A. St. Francis and The Canticle of Brother Sun B. Bonaventure's Theology of the Trinity C. Bonaventure's Theology of Creation IV. Creation as a Community of Moral Concern A. Bonaventure s Christian Anthropology: Contemplative, Ethical Human Beings B. Initatio Christi: St. Bonaventure s Agapistic Virtue Ethics & Forced Global Warming 1. Humility 3. Obedience 2. Poverty 4. Love C. Imitatio Christi: Virtue Ethics and Human-forced Global Warming V. Conclusion Trinity of Love, by Cathy Tisel Nelsen

14 Introduction The affective and embodied experience of Francis of Assisi ( ) The Franciscan theological tradition that he inspired Bonaventure of Bagnoregio ( ) John Duns Scotus ( )

15 Introduction Psalms How manifold are your works, O Lord! the earth is full of your creatures Ps 104 Creation: Genesis and More The Story of ORIGINS Job Then the Lord addressed Job Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding Job 38: 1-4 John In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. Jn1:1-2 Proverbs When he established the heavens I was there, when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep; Then was I beside him as his craftsman Prov 8:27-30 Colossians He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth Col 1:15-16

16 Introduction Franciscan Ethics Use of Scripture Draws on Christocentric texts The Franciscan vision of the primacy of Christ argue strongly for the moral significance of Creation The Franciscan approach interprets it in light of embodied human experience, and is an expression of the "scripture-in-tradition principle" of David Tracy Paul's Christological hymns and the prologue to the Gospel of John. The cosmological dimension of the Incarnation, its role in salvation history, and the interdependence between the Incarnation and Creation

17 Introduction semiliterate vernacular theologian McGinn an intensely charismatic popular preacher and mystic Matura Francis wrote at least twenty-eight documents and dictated five others prayers, meditations, written sermons, exhortatory letters, and instructions for following the Gospel Francis of Assisi ( ) IOANNES PAULUS PP. II LITTERAE APOSTOLICAE INTER SANCTOS S. FRANCISCUS ASSISIENSIS CAELESTIS PATRONUS OECOLOGIAE CULTORUM ELIGITUR

18 Introduction Francis & his spiritual vision Dedicated follower of Jesus Christ Devoted to the Incarnation Loved the Gospel Captivated by the Eucharist Held a religious vision of the kinship of all creation Practiced intense contemplative prayer Preached publicly of God's peace and love Francis of Assisi ( )

19 Introduction Bonaventure of Bagnoregio ( ) The context of the rise of the Franciscan school Rise of the university The retrieval of Aristotle and Plato's Timaeus The Franciscan intellectual tradition Translated the intuition and spirit of Francis, and that of the primitive Franciscans, into formal philosophy and systematic theology John Duns Scotus ( )

20 Introduction Bonaventure of Bagnoregio ( ) John Duns Scotus ( ) The theology of Bonaventure engages and transforms patristic philosophical and theological concepts provides a conducive metaphysical and epistemological basis for dialogue with contemporary sciences, including ecology and evolution Recent scholarship on Scotus highlights the influence of his Franciscan religious life on his extraordinary philosophical vision

21 Introduction Two theological concepts have special potential for environmental ethics The primacy of Christ asserts an integral relation between the Incarnation and Creation, proposes a soteriological and cosmological purpose to the Incarnation The understanding of the Trinity a communion of persons that is dynamic, creative, and self-diffusive in love God is relationship

22 St. Francis of Assisi (1181/ ) Patron of Ecology Humanity of Christ Mystery of God as Generous Love Sense of Creation as Family

23 Living the Incarnation "even for worms he had a warm love, since he had read this text about the Savior: l am a worm and not a man. That is why he used to pick them up from the road and put them in a safe place so that they would not be crushed by the footsteps of passersby. The Life of Saint Francis by Thomas of Celano," I, ch. XXIX. Francis understood Psalm 22:7 But I am a worm, not a man, scorned by men, despised by the people. as a Christological text with implications for a Christian praxis of care for creation.

24 Living the Incarnation Francis religious journey... Encounters with animals, "the other," whether leper, religious brother, or sultan Conversion, drew him more deeply into God.

25 Living the Incarnation Christ present in all of material reality... The Incarnation is an expression of divine poverty or humility: "For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. "The Latter Admonition and Exhortation" 4-6.

26 Living the Incarnation "Behold, each day He humbles himself as when He came from the royal throne into the Virgin's womb; each day He Himself comes to us, appearing humbly; each day He comes down from the bosom of the Father upon the altar in the hands of a priest. "The Admonitions" 1: 15-18

27 Living the Incarnation In beautiful things he contuited Beauty itself and through the footprints impressed in things he followed his Beloved everywhere, out of them all making himself a ladder through which he could climb up to lay a hold of him who is utterly desirable. With an intensity of unheard devotion he savored in each and every creature as in so many rivulets that fontal Goodness... Bonaventure, The Major Legend of Saint Francis, 9:1.

28 Living the Incarnation St. Anselm of Canterbury ( ) Cur Deus Homo (Why Was God made Man?)

29 Living the Incarnation The Primacy of Christ... Scotus provides a deep, penetrating meditation on the significance of the Incarnation, which he asserted was the highest, most perfect expression of God's love... Col. 1:15-17 Eph 1:3-10 Jn 1: a compelling alternative to Anselm's theory of satisfaction in Cur Deus homo.

30 Living the Incarnation Scotus asked: What was God's original intention for the Incarnation? What kind of God would choose to become Incarnate among us? God is absolutely free and loving the Incarnation must be an expression of love and freedom God motivated to remedy sin an inferior rationale The Incarnation was conceived before the creation of the world... to unite humanity with God through love not a discrete historical event not merely a precondition for the Word The Incarnation is the highest expression of divine love... Scotus does not discount sin, disregard need for human redemption He does insist they are subordinate concerns relative to full communion with God through the Incarnation

31 Living the Incarnation Scotus asserts an integral, interdependent relationship between the Incarnation and creation, and the importance of creation in the divine plan. Creation was conceived by God before the beginning of the world to be capable of bearing Christ in incarnate form. The relationship between Christ and Creation predated the creation of the world The act and process of creation was a prelude to a much fuller manifestation of divine love in the Incarnation.

32 Living the Incarnation The fundamental purpose of creation is to bear Christ A clear continuity between the doctrines of Creation, Incarnation, and Redemption known through the profound love of God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5

33 Living the Incarnation Creation has an essential role to play in salvation history, and lays the foundation for considering creation as morally significant.

34 Trinity: God as Relationship

35 Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord, Yours, praise are the praises, the glory, the honor and all blessings. To you alone, Most High, do they belong, and no one is worthy to mention Your name. Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day and through whom You give us light. And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor; and bears a likeness of You, Most High One. Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars. In the heavens You formed them clear, and precious and beautiful. Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind and through the air, cloudy and serene and every kind of weather through which You give sustenance to all Your creatures. Praised be You my Lord through Sister Water, which is very useful, and humble, and precious and chaste. The Canticle of the Creatures - St. Francis of Assisi The Story of CONVERSION Praised be You my Lord through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong. Praised be You my Lord through our Sister, Mother Earth who sustains and governs us, and produces varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs. Praise be You my Lord through those who give pardon for Your love and bear infirmity and tribulation. Blessed are those who endure in peace, for by You Most High, they shall be crowned. Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Bodily Death, from whom no-one living can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Blessed are those whom death finds in Your most holy will, for the second death shall do them no harm. Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks, and serve Him with great humility.

36 Trinity: God as Relationship The Canticle of the Creatures Francis's own voice Images from Psalm 148 and Daniel 3:57-88 A poetic, Christological hymn

37 Trinity: God as Relationship Bonaventure s Trinitarian theology develops St. Francis intuitive, spiritual understanding of divine family... Echoes Francis's contemplation of God in creation Develops the fourth-century Cappadocian patristic tradition Trinity as a community Uses the Pseudo-Dionysius and Richard of St. Victor

38 Trinity: God as Relationship Bonaventure understood the Divine Trinity as self-diffusive goodness and ultimate love. The divine persons Intimately related to one another Mutually inhere in one another and draw life from each other The Trinity is an organic relational system animated by love.

39 Trinity: God as Relationship Father Font of All Goodness Spirit Free Will Love Incarnate Son Image Word Creation: Vestige, Image, Similitude

40 Trinity: God as Relationship Bonaventure's theology of Creation derives from his understanding of the Trinity. Bonaventure provides metaphors for the created universe and its relationship to the Trinity Circle Fountain Song Book Bonaventure proposes a theology of Trinity remarkably compatible with the modern scientific notion of the ecosystem

41 Creation as a Community of Moral Concern The Franciscan intellectual tradition holds valuable theological resources for contemporary environmental ethics... the individual, subjective, sensory experience of creation; reflection on New Testament in light of the experience of creation; and highly developed Christological and Trinitarian theological insights. Francis example of living the Gospel, love for all creatures, and a moral vision of these as integrally related.

42 Creation as a Community of Moral Concern The Franciscan tradition has always held that creation has a religious purpose: It bears God; it communicates God; it prompts human beings to journey into God; it praises God independently of human beings. Creation bear religious significance Morally significant. The Franciscan tradition a fecund foundation for the exercise of the moral imagination for environmental ethics.

43 Creation as a Community of Moral Concern A Franciscan approach to environmental ethics: Supports a more inclusive vision of the moral community Relates all creation to God as the source of life. Undercuts radical anthropocentrism Invites humility among humans Calls Christians to imagine creation as part of the moral community: creation, the Earth, and its ecosystems, not as a novel area of ethical concern, merely appended to social ethics; but as integral to the Christian moral life. Shares several salient features with a contemporary ethics of care

44 Bonaventure s Christian Anthropology: Contemplative, Ethical Human Beings Imago Dei Memory, Intellect, Will Unique, not necessarily superior Mediator Guardian

45 Bonaventure s Christian Anthropology: Contemplative, Ethical Human Beings Creation - God, who like an artist internally imagines externally expresses

46 Bonaventure s Christian Anthropology: Contemplative, Ethical Human Beings The material and natural world is to arouse the human consciousness to praise and love God. Humanity is to serve nature by giving it a voice. Therefore whoever is not illuminated by such great splendors in created things is blind. Anyone who is not awakened by such great outcries is deaf. Anyone who is not led from such great effects to give praise to God is mute. Anyone who does not turn to the First Principle as a result of such signs is a fool. Therefore open your eyes, alert your spiritual ears, unlock your lips and apply your heart, so that in all the creatures you may see, hear, praise, love and adore, magnify and honor God, lest the entire world rise up against you. Bonaventure, Itinerarium Mentis in Deum 1.15

47 St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio ( ) Franciscan Theologian Best interpreter of St. Francis of Assisi Agapistic Virtue Ethics Love centered Imitatio Christi Following Christ Virtues Humility Poverty Obedience Love

48 Far more than an ethical model Spiritual transformation of an individual s interior disposition Jesus Christ The whole point of Jesus life To help us to be free from sin Free for becoming fully the persons we are meant to be

49 Humility Reduce, reuse, recycle Insulate your home Save on heating and cooling Use public transportation Buy energy efficient products Lower the heat on water heater Do laundry in cold water Buy power from renewable energy sources Learn about Earth s systems Ask friends to join you in conserving everything From the Latin humus = earth Our identity earth creatures Use science and technology to care for the Earth

50 Poverty Know your water supply Use filters, not bottled water Take a shower, not a bath Use phosphate free soaps and detergents Use grey-water for watering gardens Turn the tap off while brushing your teeth Learn how trade agreements affect water policies Set your toilet to use less water False poverty not having stuff Ultimately craving more Live in gratitude for God s gifts

51 Obedience Pray for peace, healing, hope Fast & pray for food justice Learn about hunger & poverty Buy fair trade foods & products Support community-based food programs Support stronger federal food assistance programs Increase access to healthier foods for all Buy food from local farmers Eliminate food deserts in cities From the Latin oboedire = to pay attention or to hear Pay attention to the groaning of the Earth Become ecologically literate Engage prayerful discernment Heed promptings of the Holy Spirit Act

52 Love Drive a fuel-efficient vehicle Join a car cooperative Group errands together; use less gas Shop at farmers markets Grow a vegetable garden; fruit and nut trees Buy food grown within 100 miles of your home Avoid plastic and packaging Use products made from recycled or natural materials Buy non-petroleum-based personal care and cleaning products Receive & share God s love among ourselves and with all of creation Justice and law are necessary Enforce laws and policies that keep clean air, water, and soil accessible to all

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54 Climate Refugees The Story of CONVERSION

55 Conclusion: A Franciscan Approach to Climate Change The Franciscan Charism & Intellectual Tradition A gift to the Church & the world Yes to the goodness of all creation Formed & expressed in practical ways Call to on-going conversion metanoia Intentional personal and communal work Presumes the kinship of all creation Become more attuned to God s presence in creation The value of each creature and element Immediate changes in relationships with creation Honors heritage of dialogue between theology & science An integrated spirituality / theology / ethics / praxis

56 Conclusions A moral system based on a Christocentric theology, a communitarian vision, and scripture is a powerful resource for Christians. I have done what is mine to do, may Christ show you what is yours. St. Francis of Assisi

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