Laudato Si’ in the United States: Reflections on Love, Charitable Works, and Social Justice

Abstract

This article was delivered on June 29, 2019 as the third plenary address at the inaugural gathering of “_Laudato Si_’ in the United States: A Conference Series on Our Common Home” co-sponsored by Creighton University and Catholic Climate Covenant. Kenneth Himes and Daniel DiLeo first consider the meaning and experience of Jesus’s “greatest commandment” to love God and neighbor in the early Christian community. Next, the authors distinguish between love, charity, and justice and outline how these understandings inform Catholic teachings about the necessity of charitable works and social justice. The authors then consider how charitable works and social justice are both present in _Laudato Si’_ and conclude by outlining a pastoral plan by which the US Catholic community might better incorporate Pope Francis’s ecological vision.