Protection of Environment and Creation as a Meeting Point between the Catholic Church and the European Union
Copyright (c) 2023 Dr. Ujházi Lóránd
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Reflection on the created world has always been part of Catholic theology. However, it was relatively late that the protection aspect became an integral part of the Church’s social teaching. The Catholic Church has sought to provide a theologically based response to the harm caused by modern economy, industry and military force. Pope Francis issued an encyclical on environmental pollution. The encyclical, Laudato si’, is the first ecclesiastical document to explicitly address the protection of creation by taking into account public policies at national and international level. Pope Francis continues the policy of the Second Vatican Council, which was based on dialogue. For the common good and for the good of humanity, he seeks to establish a dialogue with all States and international organisations. In this paper, we compare specifically the environmental aspects of the Holy See and the European Union. We will try to show the common points as well as the philosophical differences and the different solutions proposed.
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