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]