It Should Not Be That Easy Using Green: A Mapping of a Green Theo-Ecoethical Hermeneutical Lens in Conversation with Pope Francis’ Peace Witness, Evangelii Gaudium, and Laudato Si’

Interrelated social and ecological crises increasingly threaten both human survival and the vitality of the Earth community. These crises are primarily anthropogenic, have spiritual and temporal implications, and are therefore of concern to Christian ethics. In light of this confluence, the working premise of this thesis is that magisterial responses to these contemporary crises can be examined and assessed through an ecumenically-informed green theo-ecoethical lens. Specifically, that lens is fashioned in relation to six green principles, viz., ecological wisdom, social justice, participatory democracy, nonviolence, sustainability, and respect for diversity. A green theo-ecoethical lens is then employed to map, colligate, and assess the contributions of Pope Francis’ peace witness, his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, and his encyclical Laudato Si’, to the fostering of socio-ecological flourishing. In turn, such mappings and assessments reciprocally inform the lens. The dynamic interplay between the green theo-ecoethical lens with its six operative principles and the ecotheological, ecospiritual and ecoethical reflections of Pope Francis bring into sharper focus integral, socio-ecological flourishing that is a key goal for faithful Christian living in the world. The green theo-ecoethical lens’ nomenclature points to each of its constitutive parts (viz., green, theological, ecological, and ethical dimensions), which are unfolded in relation to a colligational mapping of the six green principles, Pope Francis’ peace witness, Evangelii Gaudium, and Laudato Si’ in this thesis. Each of these constitutive parts was selected for its potential to contribute contextual cogency to a hermeneutical lens. Moreover, when acting in combination, the four constitutive parts support a methodological approach that is at once critical and normative, holding that a necessary response to contemporary crises is to turn the human project toward more fully incarnating substantive peace and integral justice. In sum, this thesis constructs an ecumenically-informed green theo-ecoethical hermeneutical lens. That lens is employed to enter into conversation with, colligate, and map the contributions of Pope Francis’ social teaching and lived example toward fostering socio-ecological flourishing at this crucial stage in planetary history.Doctor of Theology (ThD