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Laudato Si’ And The Tragedy Of The “Throwaway Culture.”, Lucia A. Silecchia

Scholarly Articles

Throughout Laudato Si’, Pope Francis decries what he calls the “throwaway culture.” At first blush, given the over-arching ecological theme of Laudato Si, this may seem to be solely a critique of wasteful consumerism. However, it is far more than that. It is a critique of a mindset and world view that discards people, promises, values and community bonds when they seem to lack immediately obvious or quantifiable value in the eyes of the world. Although this is a profoundly personal moral critique, it also provides a lens through which all laws and public policies might be viewed. Laudato Si’ …