23 CHAPTER SIX Ecological Education and Spirituality In this chapter Pope Francis highlights the great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge for all people to change their perceptions of our common origins and mutual belonging. I Towards A New Lifestyle We live in a world of needless buying and spending The world is awash with consumerism, and people can come to believe they are free as long as they have the supposed freedom to consume (203). It is, however, those who wield economic and financial power (203) who have freedom. This obsession with a consumerist lifestyle (204) sows the seeds of unrest arising from a terrible selfishness. The emptier a person’s heart is, the more he or she needs things to buy, own and consume. It becomes almost impossible to accept the limits imposed by reality (204) and in this environment, concern for the common good can disappear, leading to dangerous violence and mutual destruction (204). We must, however, still have hope that people can rise above this conditioning and embark on new paths to freedom (205). Our human dignity comes from responding to God’s grace in our hearts; this is stronger than any human-made system. We have the power to pressure governments and businesses and all who wield social power into changing the ways they operate and finding new ways of engaging. For example, purchasing is always a moral—and not simply economic—act (206). The current state of the world’s environment means we must reflect on the ways we live and our financial engagement with the world around us. We are all capable of care; disinterested concern for others, and the rejection of every form of self-centredness...are essential if we truly wish to care for our brothers and sisters and for the natural environment (208). II Educating for the Covenant Between Humanity and the Environment A passionate concern for the protection of our world comes about through education We know that simply buying more and having more possessions does not lead to deep happiness and meaning, yet consumerist habits are hard to break. We are faced with an educational challenge (209), and environmental education is the answer. What is needed more than ever are educators capable of developing an ethics of ecology, and helping people, through effective pedagogy, to grow in solidarity, responsibility and compassionate care (210) in order to pierce through the myth of consumerism. In this way we can all discover ways of acting that will positively affect the world around us, such as avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or carpooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices (211). When done for the right reasons, these are acts of love (211). As never before in history, common destiny beckons us to seek a new beginning... Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful celebration of life (207).
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