The encyclical Laudato Si' in the context of modernity: A voice in the dialogue on the ecological crisis

Abstract

The fact that we live in an interconnected plural world makes it necessary for common problems such as environmental crisis to be solved in common. One of the best ways to accomplish this is through dialogue, the more extensive the better. Plurality, which has plenty of virtues, can also lead to difficulties when defining the conditions of possibility of said dialogue. The present paper wishes to analyze whether the Catholic Church, through the encyclical Laudato Si' by Pope Francis, could be a valid interlocutor in the environmental crisis, specifically in the context of modernity. Can a text written by the highest authority in Catholicism be of interest to others than the believers of this religion and the scholars studying religious phenomena? Do LS's critiques of technoscience imply a rejection of modernity, given that technoscience is an unequivocal part of modern rationality?