Indigenous People’s Wisdom and the Church’s Mission of Caring for the Earth: Towards Integral Ecology

Abstract

Today, the world faces the challenge of ecological destruction due to global warming and climate change. The situation is made worse by massive industrialization, modernization, and urbanization, driven by insatiable capitalistic and consumeristic desires. The Catholic Church responds to the worsening ecological destruction crisis with Pope Francis as the prominent figure in this task. In 2015, with the world facing an ecological and environmental challenge, Pope Francis gave the whole world a message of caring for the earth in his Encyclical Laudato Si’ (“On Care of Our Common Home”). The indigenous peoples are our dialogue partners in this document in caring for our planet.