Cardinal Pell Makes Plain Why Laudato Si Should Not Be Taken As Teaching

Cardinal Pell is to be commended for reminding the world that the Church cannot pronounce infallibly on matters of empirical science, or economics for that matter, because Our Lord has not granted her any mandate to do so.  She may teach infallibly on matters of faith and morals - but that's it.  All other matters are left to prudential judgment, given the parameters of faith and morals.  The encyclical makes pretentious claims that the "science" and "economics" promoted therein are the will of God; again that's impossible for those fields are not within the Church's competence.  One immediate outcome will be the reduction of credibility that will be ascribed when the pope does speak on matters of faith and morals, for people might understandably think that if the pope can botch up matters of science and economics in an encyclical (and he has!), why should they believe him when he speaks on matters of faith and morals?  Yes, such thinking would be erroneous and cannot be condoned, but the mess that is Laudato Si renders it understandable.

No doubt Cardinal Pell sees the potential for such real damage that Laudato Si will wreak (see here and here).  It is filled with progressive screed that not only was inspired by the rantings of Sachs and Shnellnhuber, but perhaps are the prattling of the same.  You'll notice that in the first half of the thing.  Here is a collection of my posts on LS; in those posts is a link to the English translation of the document.

The Catholic World Report recently put out a piece that takes issue with the faulty economics that are peppered throughout Laudato Si.  In Laudato Si, the pope raises the same alarmist tocsins regarding the "scarcity" of resources.  Now here's a salient point that CWR raises: "If the pope and others are ringing alarm bells, at times they seem to underestimate the creative power of human intelligence and freedom in the face of extreme scarcity of resources."  Many, if not all, progressives seem to think of man as being a mere consumer.  They fail, or more aptly, refuse to recognize that human labor and ingenuity is probably the most valuable resource imaginable.  That is why they are constantly kvetching for "population control" along with the abortion, contraception and sterilization that they think is necessary to attain "sustainable development".  That is why the "Sachs and Schnellnhuber" cabal seek to bring in others of their mindset such as Noami Klein.

This week's Catholic Standard had as its theme "preparation for the Pope's visit".  One "suggested activity" was to read Laudato Si.  I agree that it should be read so that all might see for themselves that it is permeated with progressive venom.  It is not in keeping with the traditions of our Church and must be both refused and resisted.