https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/104174 Sat, 04 Apr 2026 19:51:51 GMT 2026-04-04T19:51:51Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/88106 Title: Editorial note [Melita Theologica, 71(2)] Abstract: I am honoured to introduce this monographic edition of Melita Theologica on environmental ethics. The choice of this theme is not fortuitous since the Chief Editor’s request to the Department of Moral Theology to embark on this thematic issue coincided with the universal Church’s celebration of the fifth anniversary of Laudato si’ (24 May 2020 - 24 May 2021), which is considered a landmark encyclical in the corpus of Christian social teaching. Six years on, Laudato si’ continues to challenge us all, particularly at a time when the global environmental (and social) crisis is increasingly emerging as one of the res novae of our time. This crisis has been long in the making, as the extremely influential paper by Lynn White made clear. The American historian, who pioneered the field of medieval technology, maintained that the root of the environmental crisis lies in the “exploitative” attitude towards nature which developed alongside the technological developments since the Middle Ages in the Christian West. White asserted that “we shall continue to have a worsening ecologic crisis until we reject the Christian axiom that nature has no reason for existence save to serve man.” [excerpt] Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/88106 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/88105 Title: The environmental concerns of the Maltese Church Authors: Zammit, Raymond; Calleja, Carlo Abstract: Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato si’, On the Care of Our Common Home has been described as “one of the most significant statements on human-environment relationships ever made within the Catholic Church.” Yet this was by no means the first ever Church pronouncement on care for the environment. In fact, the “Green Encyclical” itself quotes several sources within the tradition of the Church and even beyond, going as far back as the Canticle of Francis of Assisi, and even quoting the 9th century Muslim mystic Ali Al Khawas. Pope Francis also relies heavily on his predecessors who likewise gave importance to safeguarding creation. The local Church’s concern for the environment did not start with Laudato si’ either (herafter LS). It would suffice to mention, inter alia, the Diocesan Synod held between 1999 and 2003. Even before that, Prof. Carmelo Sant, the distinguished biblical scholar, had dedicated his 1986 oration to theology graduands precisely on the matter. In any case, the pronouncements and initiatives taken by the local Church on environmental matters allow the Church to engage in dialogue in the “public square” on consequential issues to contemporary and future generations. At the same time, however, they ought to form consciences for responsible citizenship and faithful stewardship among its own members. [excerpt] Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/88105 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/88104 Title: Our common home belongs to all generations Authors: Agius, Emmanuel Abstract: The defence of the weak members of society from the socio-political and economic forces which, in one way or another, have threatened their fundamental human rights, has been at the centre of the church’s social teaching. The body of “social wisdom” on socio-economic, political, cultural and environmental matters which has developed in a rich fashion especially during the last one hundred years or so spells out the church’s deep concern for “the joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties, of ... those who are poor or in any way oppressed.” Christian social ethics is by no means a static collection of doctrinal social statements. Rather, it is a collection of social values and principles which are proactively applicable to the new challenges of the day. One may conclude that modern Christian social thought is characterised by three distinct perspectives. During the pre-conciliar era, the main concern of the church was how to resolve the conflict between advantaged and disadvantaged individuals or classes. Many workers and their families became poor, vulnerable and powerless as a result of the socio-economic and political structures created by the industrial revolution. Both Liberalism and Collectivism, as expressed in selfish capitalism and manifested in the theory of socialism, were vehemently criticized because they were an obstacle to the full and authentic development of the worker. [excerpt] Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/88104 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/88102 Title: Verso un’eco-teologia integrale, alla luce di Laudato si’ : aspetti epistemologici e possibili implicazioni disciplinari Authors: Giustiniani, Pasquale Abstract: La correlazione tra essere umano, ambiente, economia e lavoro, va incoraggiando studi in vari ambiti disciplinari, che si muovono nell’ottica della cosiddetta ecologia integrale. Non si tratta tanto di opere che propongono una materia nuova, quanto piuttosto un metodo nuovo, una visuale nuova, svolti alla luce dell’istanza inter- e trans-disciplinare, che sono, del resto, per quanto concerne la ricerca teologica, un auspicio metodologico espresso anche dalla Costituzione apostolica Veritatis gaudium (29 gennaio 2018) di Papa Francesco. Ciò comporta, tra l’altro, non poche ricadute nella didattica delle discipline teologiche, per cui nell’offerta formativa della Facoltà universitarie teologiche il plesso di contenuti formalmente ambientali potrebbe essere sempre più correlato alle tradizionali discipline etico-sociali e teologico-morali. In Italia, in particolare, anche sotto la spinta degli Orientamenti pastorali 2010-2020 della CEI, prende corpo una vera e propria proposta di pedagogia religiosa ritenuta in grado di “educare e formare alla vita buona del vangelo,” con l’obiettivo di “promuovere lo sviluppo della persona nella sua totalità, in quanto soggetto in relazione, secondo la grandezza della vocazione dell’uomo e la presenza in lui di un germe divino.” Il che implica: “un’ecologia urbana che comprenda la riduzione delle emissioni, l’esercizio di stili di vita e comportamenti ecologici, la conciliazione nell’organizzazione dei tempi del lavoro e della famiglia, un’ecologia dell’utilizzo dei beni e delle strutture. E, in primo luogo, un’ecologia delle relazioni.” [excerpt] Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/88102 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z