Appalachia andLaudato Si’: Developing the Connection between the Poor and the Environment

Abstract

In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis links environmental degradation and the poor, writing that “the poor and the earth are crying out.” Appalachia complicates the pope's claim, however, because it is an area that suffers from environmental degradation but also supports the Trump administration's dismantling of environmental regulations. Thus, Pope Francis’ understanding of the poor in Laudato Si’ needs development in three ways. First, he needs to explore how environmental degradation causes spiritual harm in addition to physical harm. Second, the pope needs to note that spiritual harm often causes the poor to cry out in ways that are sexist, racist, homophobic, and hostile toward the environment. Finally, the pope should note that the voices to be heeded in responding to environmental degradation are those voices marginalized within poor communities because they are most likely to address the spiritual harm and avoid scapegoating others.

The Catholic Church’s response to the cry of the poor amid the environmental crisis in the light of Laudato Si

“…Pope Francis opposes the damage to the planet and the poor and asserts that God loves all creation, so "the rich and the poor have equal dignity" (Biviano, 2020, p. 51). Pope Francis also stresses the physical and material harm to the life of the poor because of the degradation of ecosystems, such as natural disaster risk, lack of clean water and energy, forced migration, and human trafficking (King, 2019). The poor suffer from air, soil, and water contamination since their livelihood heavily depends on natural resources such as fishing and farming (King, 2019).…”

“…Pope Francis also stresses the physical and material harm to the life of the poor because of the degradation of ecosystems, such as natural disaster risk, lack of clean water and energy, forced migration, and human trafficking (King, 2019). The poor suffer from air, soil, and water contamination since their livelihood heavily depends on natural resources such as fishing and farming (King, 2019). The poor are disadvantaged, lack housing security, and live on marginal lands where access to clean…”

“…Dealing with these issues, the Catholic Church places its concern for the poor and marginalized as a preferential option in all of the Church's decisions regarding the long-term sustainability of resource usage (Chu, 2022). Pope Francis calls for people, especially governments, to care for the poor in rural and urban communities around the world and to protect integral ecology by tirelessly seeking solutions for the severe impacts of environmental degradation on the life quality of the poor (King, 2019).…”

“The Poor Feel it the Most”: The Antilles Bishops, the Poor, and Climate Change

“…Much of the focus on the impact of ecological degradation on the poor has been on the material impact. However, Jason King (2019) argues, using the concrete experiences of people from Appalachia in the United States, that although Laudato Sí (and, by extension, the DCC ) draw attention to the physical harm the impoverished suffer, there are other significant forms of damage that need to be acknowledged and addressed. King argues that ecological degradation also impacts the poor’s sense of dignity.…”

“…In particular, they may even lash out against the work of environmentalists who seek to serve the interests of the afflicted. King (2019: 248) poses a challenge to develop a new way of listening to the multiple and diverse cries of the poor by recognizing that the damage done to their sense of dignity is at the root of their cries:

[Their cries need to be heeded], but the lashing out at others needs to be opposed as much as the despair needs to be treated. Instead, the voices that respond to threats to human dignity by working to preserve people and land need to be prioritized, and these voices often come from those marginalized within marginalized communities.

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