As the Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Global Affairs at Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, Scott Appleby focuses on global religion — in particular, its relationship to peace and conflict and integral human development. He said Pope Francis’ monumental 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home is one of the “most profound and enduring” of all the wonderful gifts he gave to the Church and to the world.
“The letter’s exhortation to transform our relationship to nature and to one another by ‘heeding the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’ is a clarion call to end wasteful habits and selfish practices that exploit our planet’s resources and leave the poor to pick up the tab,” Appleby said.
Appleby said the pope’s words inspire Notre Dame’s work in poverty, peace, sustainability and environmental justice — all of which are key elements of the Keough School’s strategic focus.
Those important pillars, as well as the University’s new initiative on a just transformation to a sustainable environment, are “directly inspired by Laudato si’ and by the teaching and example of Pope Francis,” he said.