Integral Ecology as a Liberationist Concept

Abstract

The concept of integral ecology is at the center of Pope Francis’s call for the renewal of our common home. However, throughout Laudato Si’, this concept remains somewhat under-defined. In this article, I clarify both the structural and qualitative dimensions of Francis’s concept by demonstrating the ways in which it aligns with Gustavo Gutiérrez’s classic concept of integral liberation. In so doing, I argue that through the concept of “integral ecology” Francis calls for the radical conversion of the political and cultural dimensions of the global system, a metanoia that he roots in a vision of God’s desire for humanity and the earth.