The Journal of Moral Theology has published the keynote address delivered by Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago at a 2021 conference on Laudato si’, the papal encyclical on care for our common home.

The encyclical, he said, needs to “be understood as a renewed call to conversion, to respond to Jesus’s invitation to think differently about human beings, life, society, and our relationship with nature.”

“The first conversion,” he continued, “involves a shift that affects our politics by moving from an economic model of development to one that emphasizes integral human development. A second conversion leads us to become more aware of the interconnectedness of creation and the need for global solidarity through ecological education that is both informational and formational. A third conversion, which is fundamentally spiritual, provides us both passion and motivation in taking up the challenges we face.”