“Laudato si” at 5 Balancing Particularity with Solidarity in the Competitive Landscape of Catholic Higher Education

Abstract

How might Catholic colleges and universities draw from their unique missions to educate and act together in response to the pressing needs of the environment? Honoring the fifth anniversary of Laudato si, this article argues that Pope Francis’s notion of ecological conversion and his bold conviction that the “cry of the earth is the cry of the poor,” have the potential to advance creative collaborations within and among Catholic colleges and universities. Such initiatives in ecological education and advocacy may serve to temper a spirit of competition in Catholic higher education with an affirmation of a shared identity grounded in solidarity and care for our common home