The THE ETHICAL INTERFACE OF SUSTAINABLE PROSPERITY IN THE TEACHINGS OF POPE FRANCIS
Keywords:
Ethics, Religion, Pope Francis, Prosperity, Sustainable Development, Bottom-up approach, Fu Jen Catholic UniversityAbstract
The UN resolution, Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, though aims to achieve sustainable development (SD) for all, in all dimensions of human existence, the Agenda lacks an in-depth discussion on ethical/moral and religious/spiritual dimensions. This paper argues that the values of creatureliness, solidarity, and interconnectedness contained in the God-oriented, people-centred, and planet-inclusive ethical vision of Pope Francis offer the world a very comprehensive, practical, and bottom-up approach to sustainable development. These values can serve as an interface between ethics, development, and prosperity for people and the planet, if taken seriously. In the first part of this paper, we briefly discuss the importance of including ethics/morality and religious/spiritual values in SD discussions. The second part elaborates on the ethical vision of Pope Francis, and the values they contain, and how those values can contribute to the creation of prosperous societies. In conclusion, we propose ways for higher-education institutions to integrate Pope Francis’s ethical vision into the curriculum and thus help students become responsible and active citizens, with a clear vision of the future challenges of prosperity and sustainability.
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