AUSTRALIAN Catholic University theology lecturer Jacqui Remond has encouraged students of a new global online course on Integral Ecology to unlearn the egocentric behaviours causing crises in the world.
Ms Remond, co-founder of the Laudato Si’ Movement, was a guest speaker for the third session of the Certificate Course in Integral Ecology recently offered by the Pontifical Universities in Rome.
Ms Remond is the only Australian expert presenting in the six-month course.
Speaking to more than 600 people completing the course, Ms Remond briefly explored the significance of Chapter 3 of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, titled. The Human Roots Of The Ecological Crisis.
“Chapter 3 is really rich and dense because it goes to the guts of Laudato Si’, that is, the rich philosophical analysis and theological thinking that is needed to respond to the poly-crises facing the world today,” she said.
“I wanted to provide some framing around the notion that all things are interconnected, and this requires us to re-examine and embody a sense of relationship that’s close with our creator and creation, closer than what it’s been in this industrial age and the crises we’re in.”
Ms Remond said Pope Francis named two causes of the crises in Laudato Si’, a tendency to anthropocentrism, or human-centredness, and the “technocratic paradigm” which the Pope described as “the way that humanity has taken up technology and its development according to an undifferentiated and one-dimensional paradigm”.
Equally “problematic” is the language often used to describe the natural world.
“One point I brought forward was an urge to critique some of the common language, for instance, when we say ‘environment’ we are positioning ourselves as separate from creation, and that’s hugely problematic,” Ms Remond said.
“I invited the cohort to consider the beliefs and myths, unconscious or subconscious, that have been reinforced in our cultures, including in our faith tradition, such as the literal interpretation of Genesis to have dominion over creatures, reinforcing a superiority over creation. Through the lens of our creator, creation can be seen as gifts and not ‘resources’, as through a utilitarian mindset.”
Ms Remond said creating more environmental programs and initiatives would not necessarily solve the crises.
“There is a serious risk that our solutions are coming from the same flawed thinking that have contributed to the crises in the first place,” she said.
Highlighting a theocentric worldview, where men and women were placed “at the bottom of a love heart, to be of service to all within creation” was more closely aligned with integral ecology. This approach requires a “deep journey, to recognise and unlearn fragmented patterns of thinking, being and relating to restore socio-cultural- ecological justice”.
To enrol in the program and to begin viewing the prior sessions, register at https://immatricolazioni.unigre.it
