Catholic Universities and Social Action in the Context of the Transgressing of Planetary Boundaries

Abstract

This paper will reflect upon Catholic universities’ mission of pursuing the truth and promoting justice in light of the ecological crisis. First, it will examine how the truth of our ecological situation has been distorted by powerful special interests such that there is a wide gap between what the latest science is revealing about the ecological crisis and the understanding of the public and policy makers. Second, it will introduce the influential planetary boundaries framework, which identifies nine interlinked biophysical processes that modulate the stability of the Earth system, focusing especially on the climate change boundary. This framework allows one to recognize the scale of the problem and to distinguish and prioritize responses to those problems. Third, the planetary boundaries framework will be the yardstick by which the paper analyses the sustainability efforts of Catholic colleges and universities. The framework will also inform the concrete proposals to bring university sustainability efforts more in line with the truth of our situation and the demands of justice espoused in Catholic university mission statements. |Keywords: Catholic university, planetary boundaries, social projection, justice, sustainability