Ec(o)clesiology: Ecology as Ecclesiology in Laudato Si’

Abstract

This article argues that the call in Laudato Si’ for an integral ecology can also be understood as teaching about the church. It first excavates the theological presuppositions on which the practical teaching of the encyclical rests, that the interrelation between church and context is constitutive of ecclesial tradition. It suggests that Laudato Si’ provides a metaphor for these interrelations: church–world relations can be conceived as an “ecosystem.” A constructive reading of Laudato Si’ through this metaphorical lens argues that this encyclical performs a deconstruction of an essentialist, teleological understanding of revelation and ecclesial tradition.