Eco-Virtue Ethics and Anthropological Commitments of Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum: Towards a Renewed Integral Ecology

The Fourth Chapter of Laudato Si' (LS) of Pope Francis deals with the theme of 'Integral Ecology' from a religious tradition. This chapter can be interpreted as the fulcrum of the encyclical because of the density of its anthropological and ethical considerations. The theme of this chapter has informed a more emphatic presentation in the apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum (LD) on the climatic challenges confronting humanity. Both documents, with incomparable courage and novelty, offer enriching ethical discourses for advancing social, cultural, and human ecology in consonance with social justice, common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity. They contain the magisterial appeal that shows the unity of the created order. This paper offers an anthropological reading of the two documents to establish an essential framework for forming ecological ethics and virtues that can guide the ongoing global politics and discussions on the urgency of safeguarding the environment. This paper also considers the imperatives of virtue ethics in the institutional and organizational proposals for caring for our common home and the poorest of the earth.