Abstract

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RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: Demonstrating that Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’ served as an inspiration for two reports entitled Care for Creation as a Test of Our Faith and Catholics and God’s Animals: How We Fulfill the Task of Being Human, authored by the Congress of Catholic Women and Men.

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The main research problem is to present the assessment of the reports’ authors, on the state of ecological awareness among Polish Catholics, as well as to evaluate the implementation of the guidelines of the encyclical Laudato si’ in their daily lives and in the teaching and activities of the Catholic Church in Poland. The primary research method is document content analysis.

THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The article begins with a characterization of the Congress of Catholic Women and Men. Its main section analyzes two of the Congress’s reports issued in response to Pope Francis’s call for ecological conversion, with particular attention to the arguments combining scientific knowledge with Church teaching on ecology, and the proposed actions aimed at improving the situation in this area.

RESEARCH RESULTS: The analysis revealed that the encyclical Laudato si’ has not been properly reflected upon or widely disseminated within the Polish Church. The main reasons for this situation include a lack of scientific knowledge about the ecological crisis, unfamiliarity with the Church’s teaching on ecology, low awareness of faith-based ecological responsibilities, and ineffective communication regarding these issues.

CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The broad and comprehensive efforts must be undertaken within the Polish Catholic Church, to more fully implement the guidelines of the Laudato si’ encyclical. These efforts should include: promoting scientific knowledge about ecological threats, introducing ecological education into religious instruction and pastoral programs, changing the way Christian ecological responsibilities are communicated.