INTEGRAL ECOLOGY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LEGAL SCIENCE:

dilemmas for education and work within the scope of Brazilian Democratic State of Law

Abstract

This article presents the panorama of the Church which, since the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013, has been experiencing a new moment with the directions that Pope Francis has given, especially with regard to the Social Doctrine of the Church (ISD). In assuming the Chair of Peter, Francis has given special attention to social issues, so much so that work and education appear in his writings as a major concern to the point that the pontiff himself called for the Global Pact for Education in 2019. With regard to the work, he pays attention to: unemployment, the various precarious forms of labor relations and labor reforms. It is in the 2015 encyclical Laudato Si-LS that the Pope evokes an education focused on the New Humanism, in this document he also questions the neoliberal logic in the world of work. What differentiates Francis' writings from those of his predecessors is the critical character he assumes in the face of capitalism. Francis denounces this system, proposes other models and he is betting that the solution can come from popular movements. It draws attention to the concept of "integral ecology", which carries with it the analyses of inequality and social injustice, as well as the relationship between this and environmental degradation, the throwaway culture, individualism and the consumer society, thus touching on the structuring axis of the neoliberal economy. But who are the recipients of Francis' message? Francis writes not for Catholic Christians, addressing his reflections to the world's great powers in order to bring about a change in the current economic model that, in his view, promotes and perpetuates exclusion. It is much more activist than doctrinaire, which is why it is recognized even by non-Catholics. Laudato Si' – LS, for example, was written by listening to the voices of experts from different regions of the planet, including women's voices. It is not a green encyclical. The ecology we are dealing with is the result of social struggles, whether of environmentalists, traditional populations, popular movements, unemployed workers, and successful experiences of popular and solidarity economy.