Pope Francis considers all God's creatures

One of the central themes of Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato Si’, “On Care for our Common Home,” is Francis’ strong and repeated critique of anthropocentrism, or the tendency for us humans to not only prioritize our species over and against the rest of creation but also to promote a hubristic sense of our exceptionalism on this planet. The results of this misguided way of thinking, to borrow a phrase from the pope, have been devastating for the environment. We have put our own comfort, desire for wealth and distorted sense of dominion ahead of all else, rarely asking what the effects of mineral extraction, deforestation, industrial pollution and carbon emissions would be on the planet and the broad planetary community of which we are a part.

Another effect of anthropocentrism, from a spiritual perspective, is the mistaken sense that only human beings have a direct relationship with God. In its most exaggerated form, this outlook holds that humans are the only thing that matters in salvation history while all else in creation serves as a mere backdrop. This way of thinking would seem to limit the possibility that nonhuman creatures have their own relationships with God. And it certainly excludes a view that nonhuman creatures might actively engage with God as subjects in a relationship. But for those who have been attentive to what ethologists and other scientists have been discovering over the years, a blind commitment to this radical anthropocentrism has proven increasingly difficult to maintain.

For example, earlier last month, a group of scientists published a paper about sperm whales in the prestigious journal Nature. While few people likely think about these massive mammals of the sea on a daily basis, the publication of this research on the communication of whales captured the attention of the New York Times. In the article, titled “Scientists find an ‘Alphabet’ in Whale Song,” science reporter Carl Zimmer summarized the significance of the new study and the possible implications it presents. Scientists identified distinctive patterns of vocalization among whales decades ago, which have come to be known as “whale songs,” but the latest research suggests that rather than just some presumably basic communication, the vocal exchange among sperm whales may very well be more complex than originally thought. It appears that they have a phonetic alphabet, one analogous to that which forms the building blocks of human language.

Long before the advent of contemporary natural science, sacred Scriptures acknowledged an active role of the more-than-human world. Take Genesis 9:8-17, in which God makes a covenant not only with Noah and his human descendants but with “every living creature,” an expression repeated at least seven times in this short passage. Or in the Book of Job, where we read a command to “ask the beasts to teach you, the birds of the air to tell you; or speak to the earth to instruct you, and the fish of the sea to inform you” (12:7-8). Or in the Letter to the Romans, where St. Paul includes the whole of creation with humanity as longing for the day of salvation (8:19-23).

The list from scripture could go on and on, but it might be worth returning to the titular inspiration of Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, which comes from St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures. St. Francis affirms the cosmic chorus of divine praise by proclaiming that all the elements of creation give praise to God by doing what God created that creature to do: the sun through light, water through purity and our Sister Mother Earth by providing all the rest of us with a home and verdant growth.

Father Paul Magnano is parish priest for the Skagit Valley Catholic Churches.