Systemic neglect in unimaginative appeals

Marrying Strategic White Holes with Problematic Black Holes (Part #12)

Following the separately reviewed report of The Royal Society (People and the Planet, 2012), and that to the Club of Rome (2052: A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years, 2012), the Pope has now presented the joint report of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (Climate Change and The Common Good: a statement of the problem and the demand for transformative solutions, 2015). The latter is introduced by a declaration announcing:

The Catholic Church, working with the leadership of other religions, can now take a decisive role by mobilizing public opinion and public funds to meet the energy needs of the poorest 3 billion people, thus allowing them to prepare for the challenges of unavoidable climate and eco-system changes. Such a bold and humanitarian action by the world's religions acting in unison is certain to catalyze a public debate over how we can integrate societal choices, as prioritized under UN's sustainable development goals, into sustainable economic development pathways for the 21st century, with projected population of 10 billion or more.

It is the phrase "working with the leadership of other religions" which marks the text as unrealistic. Many "other religions" have endeavoured to elaborate a Declaration Toward a Global Ethic, initially drafted by a Catholic theologian in cooperation with the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, for signature at that event in 1993. This was effectively as a means of giving focus to the "moral awkening" for which the Vatican now argues. However, in practice the Catholic Church has been notable for its non-participation in that process, whilst endeavouring to position itself as a focus of the much-challenged interfaith process now further exacerbated by faith-based conflicts in the Middle East (Learnings for the Future of Inter-Faith Dialogue: insights evoked by intractable international differences, 1993). The systemic inadequcies of the process are now well-disguised by what amounts to tardy public relations presentations and hope-mongering (The Man of the Year and a Champion of Interfaith: thoughts on Evangelii Gaudium of Pope Francis, Council for a Parliament of the Worlds Religions, Interreligious Movement Mission,News, 12 December 2013).

The report also includes the statement:

Over and above institutional reforms, policy changes and technological innovations for affordable access to zero-carbon energy sources, there is a fundamental need to reorient our attitude toward nature and, thereby, toward ourselves. Finding ways to develop a sustainable relationship with our planet requires not only the engagement of scientists, political leaders and civil societies, but ultimately also a moral revolution. Religious institutions can and should take the lead on bringing about such a new attitude towards Creation.

Unfortunately, under the heading How Did We Get Here, it is noted that: Human activities have changed the climate system through emissions of CO2, other non-CO2 greenhouse gases and particulate pollution. Vast transformations of the land surface, including loss of forests, grasslands, wetlands, and other ecosystems, are also contributing to climate change. Most significantly, as with the two other reports cited, no mention is made of the role of sexual intercourse in triggering this degradation and ensuring its perpetuation on ever larger scales. Ever increasing population growth is taken as a (desirable) given, with the expectation of ever-increasing migration from Africa into Europe in consequence, as noted above (Europe's boat people: a moral and political disgrace, The Economist, 25 April-1st May 2015). The process is exacerbated by long-term policies of the Catholic Church which uses the suffering as a form of emotional blackmail in the hope of triggering a moral awakening. There is however every possibility that it will trigger ever greater indifference to such suffering (Indifference to the Suffering of Others: occupying the moral and ethical high ground through doublespeak, 2013).

Consistent with such systemic neglect, such reports are marked by the fundamental failure to consider why analyses and appeals are so systematically ignored in practice, as separately argued (Recognizing the Psychosocial Boundaries of Remedial Action: constraints on ensuring a safe operating space for humanity, 2009; Collective Learning from Calls for Global Action, 1981). Effectively neutered by their methodology, reports by officiants are exercises in disempowerment because of their failure to recognize where the power is coming from in a planet of people.