The Indiana Catholic Conference, composed of the state’s five bishops, has issued a pastoral letter on integral ecology with key contributions from ., assistant teaching professor in the at the University of Notre Dame.
Published April 2 to coincide with Holy Thursday, “Integral Ecology: A Sacramental Vision” invites Catholics and all people of goodwill to consider a deeper, faith-filled understanding of humanity’s relationship with creation — one that recognizes the world as a gift from God and calls for responsible stewardship grounded in the sacramental life of the Church.
The letter, reflecting on issues ranging from biodiversity and habitat loss to water, agriculture and energy, was written in close collaboration with Father Ehrman, a theologian with a background in biology and aquatic ecology whose research focuses on the theology of creation, science and faith, and watershed theology.
Originating with a conversation between Father Ehrman and Most Rev. Kevin C. Rhoades, bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, nearly a decade ago, the letter closely reflects the Theology and Ecology course that Father Ehrman has taught at Notre Dame since 2018. Father Ehrman also supplied nearly all of the photographs in the letter, from images of Indiana’s natural resources to artwork representing all five of the state’s cathedrals. With support from environmental consultants Mundell & Associates, he also contributed a pair of maps that the letter overlaid with the diocesan boundaries: one featuring the state’s 12 natural areas and the other its various watersheds.
Supplementary to the images and text, the maps help situate the reader in an “ecological place,” said Father Ehrman, whose interdisciplinary interests bring together faith and reason to better understand and develop a Catholic vision of who God is as Creator, who humans are as creatures and what their relationship is to God, themselves and the natural world.
“We belong to some watershed, we belong to some ecosystem,” Father Ehrman said. “So how do we think of ourselves as ecological citizens, as Pope Francis called us, but also as Church citizens or ecclesiastical citizens?”
Father Ehrman is a graduate of Notre Dame, having earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and his master’s degree in divinity from the University. He has a master’s degree in aquatic ecology from Virginia Tech and a doctorate in systematic theology from the Catholic University of America. In addition to his roles as professor and priest at Notre Dame, he has served as a foundational and collaborative thought partner for the University’s sustainability efforts.
“The main idea of this document, like Laudato si’, is ecological conversion: How do we see the world with a broader vision where we don’t just see the stuff around us as raw material that we can use indiscriminately, but as God’s creation?”
Building upon the bishops’ previous teachings on care for creation, including their 2000 pastoral letter, “Care for the Earth,” this newest letter outlines the social and ecological challenges facing mankind. It calls on Hoosiers to cultivate an attitude of “serene attentiveness to God, ourselves, (our) neighbors and creation” and to open their hearts to “communal responses to caring for our common home.”
“The main idea of this document, like Laudato si’, is ecological conversion: How do we see the world with a broader vision where we don’t just see the stuff around us as raw material that we can use indiscriminately, but as God’s creation?” Father Ehrman said. “Fundamentally, how do we develop a sacramental vision where we see the world and the first thing we do is think of the Trinity — I think of Christ, I think of God — because that’s going to affect how we relate to these things.”
The letter notes with concern the historical loss of wetlands in Indiana, the degradation of the state’s waterways and the state’s use of fossil fuels at the expense of cleaner sources of renewable energy. It also advocates for farming that meets both human and ecological needs, noting that “good farming does not degrade farmers and farmland nor animals and livestock. Rather, it restores relations and treats people, land and animals in accord with their God-given way of being.”
A key concept of Laudato si’, Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on climate change, is integral ecology, which recognizes that our interactions with the environment are woven into the fabric of economic, political, social, cultural and ethical dimensions.
“The concept of integral ecology helps us see more clearly how human life and the natural world are deeply interconnected,” said Most Rev. Charles Thompson, archbishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis. “Here in Indiana, we delight in the beauty of creation — from our Great Lake and winding rivers to forests, prairies, wetlands and farmland. As people at home in this land and pilgrims journeying toward our true home in heaven, we are called to receive creation as a gift and to care for it with gratitude and hope.”
The letter also notes with encouragement Notre Dame’s ongoing commitment to sustainability — . The University gets about 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. It also has four geothermal systems for heating and cooling, and it converts a portion of its food waste to energy. The University stopped burning coal in favor of natural gas in 2019.
“This document offers a thoughtful contribution to the Church’s ongoing reflection on the relationship between integral human development and care for creation,” Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., prefect for the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said on behalf of the Vatican. “May (it) assist the local Church throughout the United States in advancing a deeper sense of responsibility for our shared home and for the people who inhabit it.”