Fragile World: Ecology and the Church
Edited by William T. Cavanaugh
Studies in World Catholicism, Vol. 4
(Cascade Books, May 2018)
Book Reviews
Lucas Briola (Saint Vincent College), Journal of Moral Theology, 8:2 (June 2019) 145-46.
"In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis stresses the close link between the cry of the poor and cry of the earth. These essays . . . allow us to hear and learn from these twin cries. The diversity of perspectives, focused in the Global South and predominantly Catholic part of the globe . . . transports readers to places like the Agusan Marsh and villages in the Niger Delta region and makes the victims of Hurricane Yolanda and other suffering communities our neighbors . . . .While featuring established figures in the field like Celia Deane Deane-Drummond, Michael Northcott,and Cardinal Peter Turkson, the volume also introduces readers to a number of insightful and significant voices that might be less familiar . . . . This volume offers a powerful meditation on the twin cries echoing across our common home."
Kevin Hargaden (Jesuit Centre for Faith & Justice, Dublin), The Other Journal, 30 (September 19, 2019) online.
"This book is indispensable for theologians, especially Catholic moral theologians, who are interested in environmental questions. It is accessible enough to be enjoyed by the interested lay reader. Particular essays would surely serve as appropriate reading material in later undergraduate courses or introductory postgraduate courses. Its lasting strength is in the breadth of topics covered, the diversity of voices featured, and most importantly, this sense that the environment is not a thing out there, apart from us, subject to our objective gaze . . . . this book shows how the church, which Cavanaugh proposes as 'perhaps the only truly international grassroots organization' (8), should be enmeshed fully in all conversations about how to care for this world we have been gifted."