Catholicism, Ecology, and the Environment: A Bishop's Reflection

Is modern environmentalism compatible with Christianity? Bishop Dominique Rey provides answers to this critical question in this theological reflection on the relationships among God, man, and nature. More than a critique of secular environmentalism’s idolatry of nature, Rey’s primary purpose is to show Catholics and other Christians how they can view the environment in a way consistent with sacred Scripture, tradition, and magisterial teaching. Drawing on Scripture, the insights of Church Fathers, and recent magisterial teaching on ecological issues, Rey stresses that if we lose a correct understanding of man’s relationship to God and how that relationship shapes man’s self-understanding, then our capacity to think coherently about ecological subjects corrodes.