The Book
The Encyclical Laudato Si´ of Pope Francis, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contained in the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement (COP 21) constitute an epistemological and practical platform that coincide in the deep observation of the problems that humanity faces and the possible solutions that are put into play to protect life on the planet. The initial objective of this Book has been to collaborate in the construction of an environmental conscience on the concept of the ‘care of the common house’ expressed by Pope Francis in the Encyclical Laudato Si´ from an integral ecological perspective and through the gaze and the contribution of global leaders from different fields. The book reflects the succession of meetings with each interviewee, in different places and where personal stories, institutional paths and reflections on best practices and possible solutions to the problem of access to water are crossed; central to life.
What kind of world do we want to leave to those who succeed us, to the children who are growing up? (LS.160), is a central question in the Laudato Si´ and that is explicitly and implicitly present in each conversation.
Taking the image of Pope Francis of the understanding of reality as a polyhedron, the book tries to reflect the diversity of views on the same theme: Water and the environment, the care of the common house and sustainable development policies through the participation of men and women of different nationalities and from the fields of politics, economics, science, religion, the environment, education, law and civil society referents.
Why a dialogic look on the care of the common house? Dialogue is an action that arises from a behavior born from the depths of our being and positions us in front of the other as a valid and valuable interlocutor and, from a transcendent dimension, this interlocution is converted into projimity.
In the exercise that is proposed in the book and that becomes a journey through places and thoughts, it is important to underline that all dialogue involves an encounter with the other. The encounter also implies conflict: our own finitude often puts us in front of the other as an adversary. The insistence on dialogue and the culture of the meeting highlights this vocation as a way to deal with the conflicts of the present.