Laudato si'

What is “ Laudato si' ”? First presented by Pope Francis – spiritual leader to the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics – to his faith-based cohort, it is a call to action addressed not only to Catholics, but to all people of the world. Laudato si': On Care for Our Common Home raises the profile of the grave ecological crisis that humanity has created and issues a moral clarion call for urgent action to protect the earth and its inhabitants from ruin.

This short course provides an overview of the main themes and messages of Laudato si'. No affiliation or prior familiarity with Catholic teaching is required, nor any prior knowledge of the sustainable development agenda. Students are guided through the basic structure of the Laudato si' message – diagnosis of the ecological crisis, an overview of its theological and philosophical underpinnings, evaluation of the human behavior at its root, the need for institutional solutions, and the call for personal action. Issued in the months leading up to adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement, Laudato si' can be read as a moral charter for sustainable development. It provides a firm ethical foundation for actions that need to be taken urgently at all levels – global, national, local and personal, too. This is what makes it so important.

This course is for:

Anyone new to the concept of sustainable development who wants to understand its importance and the rationale for their own personal commitment to its principles

Graduate students and advanced undergraduate students interested in a core principle in their study of sustainable development – the interplay of various stakeholders in achieving the agenda

Those in faith-based communities interested in the relationship between faith and action to protect the planet

What you'll learn

• What is Laudato si'? The origins of Pope Francis’ call to action
• An overview of the human roots of the ecological crisis
• Global, national, and local solutions to the ecological crisis
• Grassroots to policy-level solutions