213 Pr egledni znans tv eni članek/ Article (1.02) Bogoslovni vestnik/Theological Quarterly 83 (2023) 1, 213—225 Besedilo pr eje t o/R eceiv ed:07/2022; spr eje t o/ Accep t ed:10/2022 UDK/UDC: 27-472:502.12 DOI: 10.34291/B V2023/01/T uzr a © 2023 T urz a e t al., CC B Y 4.0 Zoran Turza and Kata Amabilis Jurić Environmental Engagement in Catechesis: Critical Analysis of the Apprehension of the Relation between Catechesis and the Care for the Environment by the “New Directory for Catechesis” Okoljsko udejstvovanje v katehezi: kritična analiza razumevanja odnosa med katehezo in skrbjo za okolje v “Novem Pravilniku za katehezo” Abstract: “Ne w Dir ect or y f or Ca t echesis” r eleased in 2020 deals dir ectly with pr o- blems arising fr om the en vir onmen t al crisis. In this article, it will be e xplor ed ho w thi s docum en t deals with pr oblems tha t c ome fr om man’ s r ela tionship t o the en vir onmen t. The fir s t part sho w s ho w the pr e vious tw o Dir ect ories – “ Ge- ner al Ca t eche tic al Dir ect or y ” fr om 1971 and “ Gener al Dir ect or y f or Ca t echesis” f r o m 1997 – d eal t wi th th o se i ssu es, th en th e sec o n d p art sh o w s h o w th e n e w one approaches them throughout the whole document and, especially, in num- ber s 381‒384. In the las t part, se v er al critic al r emark s will be made on the do- cumen t. The main h ypothesis is as f ollo w s: the ne w Dir ect or y s tr ongly empha- sizes that engagement related to environmental problems is at the heart of Chris tian iden tity . But, in some places of the t e x t, this ar gumen t c ould be mor e emphasized and also adequately incorporated into other topics it deals with. Keywords : ec ologic al eng ag emen t, cr ea tion, c a t echesis, “Ne w Dir ect or y f or Ca t e- chesis” , Ency clic al Le tt er “Lauda t o Si ’” Povzetek: Novi Pr a vilnik z a k a t ehe z o iz let a 2020 se neposr edno sooč a s pr oblemom, ki izhaja iz ok oljsk e kriz e. V prispevk u r azisk ujemo , k ak o t a dok umen t obr a vna v a pr obleme, ki iz vir ajo iz člov ek ov eg a odnosa do ok olja. Pr vi del pr eds t a vlja, k ak o s t a omenjena vpr ašanja obr a vna v ala pr ejšnja pr a vilnik a – Splošni k a t ehetski pr a- vilnik iz let a 1971 in Splošni pr a vilnik z a k a t ehe z o iz let a 1997. Drugi del prik azuje, k ak o t e t eme sk o zi v es dok umen t, zlas ti od š t. 381 do 384, obr a vna v a novi pr a vil- nik. Zadnji del prispevk a prinaša v eč kritičnih pripomb na dok ument. Gla vna hipo- t e z a je, da novi pr a vilnik močno poudarja, da je priz adevnos t v z v e zi z ok oljskimi pr oblemi sr čik a kr ščansk e identit et e. T a ar gumen t bi lahk o na nek a t erih mes tih še bolj izpos t a vili in g a us tr e zno vključili tudi v drug e t eme, ki jih pr a vilnik obr a vna v a. Ključne besede: e k ološk a ang ažir anos t, us tv ar janje , k a t e he z a, no v i P r a v ilnik z a k a- tehezo, enciklika Laudato Si’ 214 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1 1. Introduction F or the fir s t time, an official documen t of the Ca tholic Chur ch, the “Ne w Dir ec- t or y f or Ca t e che sis” (DC) r e le ase d in 2020, which de t e r mine s the de finition and principles of c a t echesis and “ off er s fundamen t al theologic al-pas t or al principles and some g ener al guidelines tha t ar e r ele v an t f or the pr actice of c a t echesis in our time” (DC , 10), deals dir ectly with pr oblems arising fr om the en vir onmen t al crisis. The “ Gener al Ca t eche tic al Dir ect or y ” (GCD) fr om 1971 and “ Gener al Dir ect or y f or Ca t ech esi s” (GDC) fr om 1997, tw o mai n d o cu men ts f o r cr ea tin g p l an s, activi ties and s tr a t egies f or c a t echesis in the Ca tholic Chur ch, did not men tion those issu- es. On the one side, it seems righ t bec ause in the sec ond part of the 20 th century ecological crisis became more and more important and visible. It seems that the time is r eady f or a c a t eche tic al appr oach t o the ec ologic al cr isis, especially since the popes a ft er Sec ond V a tic an Council (1962‒1965) ha v e also t ak en in t o acc oun t this crisis in their documents. In this article, it will be e xplor ed how the Dir ect ory deals with pr oblems arising fr om man’ s r ela tionship t o the en vir onmen t. The fir s t part of the paper will sho w how the pr evious two Dir ectories dealt with the issue of r elations to the en vir onment in catechesis, then the second part will show how the Directory deals with the ques- tion of man’ s r ela tionship t o the en vir onmen t thr oughout the documen t. In the las t part, sev er al critical r emark s will be made on cert ain short comings of the documen t. The main h ypothesis is as f ollow s: The Dir ect ory s tr ongly emphasiz es tha t a w ar eness of en vir onmen t al pr oblems and actions tha t migh t be done t o s t op or mitig a t e them is a t the heart of Chris tian iden tity . On the other hand, in some places of the text, this argument could be applied and emphasized to a greater degree, and also adequately incorporated into other topics it deals with. 2. Attitude Towards the Environment in the “General Catechetical Directory” (1971) And the “General Directory for Catechesis” (1997) The tw o pr evious c a t echetic al dir ect ories do not addr ess dir ectly the issue of en vir onmen t al pr ot ection with in the c a t eche tic al pr ocess. GCD published b y the Sacr ed Congr eg a tion f or the Cler gy in 1971 does not men tion the w or d “ ec ology ” or the “ en vir onmen t ” , but the w or d “Cr ea t or ” is men tioned f our times and the w or d “ cr ea tion” nine times. Another import an t documen t on c a t echesis is the GDC issued in 1997 b y the Congr eg a tion f or the Cler gy . It men tions the w or d “ ec o- logy ” once in the f ootnot e, the w or d “Cr ea t or ” twice, the w or d “ cr ea tion” nine times and the w or ds “pr ot ection of cr ea tion” twice. Only the ne w DC fr om 2020 f or the fir s t time dedi c a t es se v er al articl es t o the a ttitude t o w ar ds en vi r on men t al pr ot ection within the c a t eche tic al pr ocess. Al th o u gh th e GCD (1971) d o es n o t men tion th e en vi r on men t, ec ol ogy , cl i ma t e chang e, or c aring f or a c ommon home, it does men tion the w or d “ cr ea tion” in the 215 Zoran Turza et al. - Environmental Engagement in Catechesis c on t e x t of a theology of cr ea tion eminen tly associa t ed with sot eriology . In num- ber s 50 and 51, it poin ts t o the c onnection be tw een the r ela tionship t o all cr ea ti- on and the uniq ue r ole of Jesus Chris t in the ec onom y of salv a tion. (GCD , 50‒51) This la y s the theologic al f ounda tions f or thinking about the r ela tionship t o the en vir onmen t: cr ea tion needs t o be under s t ood in r ela tion t o salv a tion. Namely , in nu mber 51 the documen t po in ts out tha t “the cr ea tion of visible and in visible things, the w orld and ang els, is the beginning of the m y s t er y of salv a tion (D V 3); the cr ea tion of man (Pius XII, Humani generis 1950) should be under s t ood as the fir s t gift and v oc a tion leading t o the celebr a tion of Chris t (cf . R om 8:29-30). ” The e v en t of cr ea tion, ther e f or e, an ticipa t es in itself the salv a tion of all cr ea tion. In this c on t e x t, salv a tion is t o be under s t ood as an e v en t tha t will ultima t ely be c om- ple t ed and fulfi lled in Jesus Chris t. The pr ocess of c omple ting salv a tion t ak es pla- ce in a his t oric al time in which specific people liv e and act. This leads t o an unequi- v oc al c onclusion about the r ole of all cr ea tur es in the pr ocess of salv a tion. E v e- r y thing cr ea t ed s triv es f or r edemp tion and salv a tion in Jesus Chris t b y the Holy Spirit. All cr ea tur es ar e ther e f or e c ompanions of man on the pa th of salv a tion. Only on this tr ack c an theologic al c onclusions be dr a wn about the a ttitude of Chris tians t o w ar ds the en vir onmen t as a dimension tha t also aspir es, as w ell as the cr ea tion of man, t o ultima t e r edemp tion and salv a tion. The GDC also emphasiz es the import ance of “na tur e pr ot ection” in tw o places. Fir s t, in number 157 it poin ts out: “Belie v er s, indeed, in the or dinar y s t a t e of the Chris tian lif e, individually or in ag e gr oup s, ar e c alled t o r espond t o the gift of God thr ough pr a y er , participa tion in the sacr amen ts, litur gy , ecclesial and social c om- mitmen t, w ork s of charity and pr omotion of human v alues, such as liberty , jus ti- ce and peace and the pr ot ection of cr ea tion. ” (GDC , 157) Nam ely , the documen t emphasizes that persons who are catechized, but also all believers, are called to pr ot ect cr ea tion in r esponse t o the gift of God. Although the pr ot ection of na tur e is in dic a t ed her e as one of a series of activities in r esponse t o the gift of God, its men tion is b y no means acciden t al. The sec ond time it men tions “na tur e pr ot ection” is in the fifth chap t er of the f ourth part, en titled “ Those t o be c a t echiz ed” . Namely , in the fifth chap t er , the document presents the main features of the socio-cultural context in which cate- chesis t ak es place, emphasizing tha t c a t echesis mus t t ak e place in “modern ar e- opagi ” such as: “ c ommunic a tions; civil c ampaigns f or peace, de v elopmen t and liber a tion of peoples; the pr ot ection of cr ea tion; the de f ense of human righ ts, especially of minorities, w omen and childr en; scien tific r esear ch and in t erna tional r ela tions. ” (GDC , 211) Na tur e pr ot ection belongs t o one of the man y ar eopagi wi- thin which catechesis should also take place if it wants to successfully accomplish its t ask b y ha ving be f or e its e y es a particular man with his specific pr oblems in a particular time and space. Some of the issues in the documen t tha t men tion the w or d “ cr ea tion” also r e- v eal th eo l o gi c al p o s tu l a t es th a t ar e cru ci al f o r u n d er s t an d i n g a sp eci fi c al l y Ch ri- s tian a ttitude t ow ar d the en vir onmen t. The k ey is number 36 which s tr ongly emphasiz es God’ s pr esence in cr ea t ed things: “Man, who b y his na tur e and his 216 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1 v oc a tion is c apable of kno wing God, when he lis t ens t o this messag e of cr ea tion is able to arrive at the certainty of the existence of God, as the cause and end of all thing s and as this one who is able t o r e v eal himself t o man. ” (GDC , 36) So , this number s t arts fr om the theology of cr ea tion within which it is emphasiz ed tha t the path to God leads through everything created. The whole created world is an opportunity for man to personally know God who reveals himself. These tw o documen ts do not deal in mor e de t ail with the specific c on t e x t in ques tion, in which the c a t eche tic al pr ocess t ak es place. Altho ugh the y do not e x- plicitly e xplain or dir ectly enc our ag e the de v elopmen t of c a t eche tic al appr oaches aimed a t pr ot ecting na tur e and r es t oring the en vir onmen t, both of these docu- men ts pr o vide major theologic al-c a t eche tic al s t arting poin ts f or under s t anding c aring f or the en vir onmen t as a specific ally Chris tian w a y of lif e. Based on the p r e vi o u s an al y si s, th e mai n th eo l o gi c al -c a t ech e tic al s t artin g p o i n ts f o r c a t ech esi s c an be indic a t ed aimed a t pr eser ving e v er y thing cr ea t ed: 1. e v er y thing cr ea t ed b y man is dir ect ed t o w ar ds salv a tion, 2. en vir onmen t al pr ot e ction is an e xpr essi- on of the Chris tian r esponse t o the gift of God, 3. pr ocess of c a t echesis should t ak e in t o acc oun t the pr ot ection of na tur e as the modern ar eopagus within which Chris tians oper a t e, 4. all cr ea tion c an lead t o God. 3. Relation to the Environment in the Entire Directory for Catechesis and in Numbers 381–384 R ela tion t o all of God’ s cr ea tion and t o the en vir onmen t in g ener al GD places it within biblic al theology in the c on t e xt of its r ela tionship t o under s t anding cr ea tion. If on e tries t o find the w or d “ ec ology ” in the Inde x of the GD , it c an be f ound but only as a guideline f or another t erm – “ cr ea tion. ” Caring f or a c ommon home is ther e f or e only under s t andable in Chris tianity in the c on t e xt of the theology of cr ea tion. The Inde x poin ts t o 15 places in the documen t tha t men tion “ cr ea tion” . The y se t out a fr ame w ork in which cr ea tion and en vir onmen t al pr oblems c an be unde r s t ood. I t doe s not br ing r e ady -m ade solutions, but s tr a t e g y a nd t he olog ic al c oncepts tha t c an be used t o under s t and the r ela tionships tha t man has: with God, with his neighbour and with the E arth (LS, 66.). The main ideas ar e as f ollo w s: 1. Ca t echesis is based upon the W or d of God (DC, 91). God speak s in cr ea tion. So , cr ea tion is the w or d of God. T o be in v olv ed in ec ologic al eng ag emen t is t o be in v olv ed in the W or d of God, or embr aced by It. 2. The annuncia tion of the King dom of God includes the messag e of salv a tion which is ine xtric ably link ed with the c ar e and r esponsibility f or the cr ea tion, the earth (DC, 173). So , ec ologic al eng ag emen t is a manif es t a tion of the human r e- sponsibility f or the gift tha t God g a v e him. 3. The earth is a place wher e God c an be e xperienced (DC, 329). If cr ea tion is the W or d of God, then thr ough cr ea tion someone c an hear His W or d and e xperi- ence His vicinity. 217 Zoran Turza et al. - Environmental Engagement in Catechesis 4. Ca t echesis helps t o r ec ogniz e tha t time, c ar e f or animals, plan ts, cultiv a tion of the earth, rh y thm of da y s and mon ths c on firm tha t all of tha t is only f or God (DC, 330). 5. Litur gic al y ear and na tur al elemen ts in litur gy show this admir able c onnection between God, man and nature. But in addition t o theologic al assumptions in g ener al tha t c an help a be tt er under s t anding of Chris tian c ar e f or all cr ea tion, DC de v ot es f our passag es dir ect- ly t o this t opic. F our number s of 428 tha t DC c on t ains, deals dir ectly with ec o- logical problems. The document delineates ecological problems in numbers from 381 t o 384. T w o mai n c oncl usi ons i t c an be mad e b y r eadi ng those passag es: 1. ec ologic al pr oblems ar e pr oblems tha t c a t echesis mus t pa y a tt en tion and 2. ec o- logic al eng ag emen t is part of the Chris tian f aith. Those passag es ar e in the thir d part of the DC c alled “Ca t echesis in the P ar- ticular Chur ches” , in chap t er 10 which is en titled “Ca t echesis in the F ace of Con- t e mpor ar y Cultur al Scenari os” and in the thi r d part of thi s chap t e r c al led “Ca t e- chesis in the socio-cultur al c on t e xts” . A t the beginning of chapt er 10 DC in number 319 clearly s t a t es tha t ther e e xis ts some t opics tha t mus t be in f ocus in or der t o deal with incult ur a tion of the f aith. Those t opics tha t ar e c al led “ c ons titutiv e a t- t en tions” ar e: plur alism, ecumenism and r eligious plur alism and socio-cultur al c on t e x t. Those c on t e x ts ha v e the f ollo wing f ea tur es: scien tific men t ality , digit al cultur e, bioe thics, the in t egrity of the per son, ec ologic al eng ag emen t, op tion f or the poor, social commitment and work environment. A t fir s t sigh t, it seems tha t ec ologic al ques tions ar e in the mar gin of this docu- men t, the y ar e one of those ques tions tha t w e mus t deal as usually as w e deal with so man y other ques tions. In the end, it only has a f our number in it. But if w e look a t thos e f our number s this s t a t emen t soon loses his o wn s tr eng th. Fir s t of all, all of tho se “ a tt en tions” ar e import an t bec ause the y ar e based in the c on- t e mpor ar y his t oric al c on t e x t, e nabling e v ang e liz e s t o ha v e a be tt e r k no wle dg e of the specific pr oblems of modern man and the challeng es the y f ace in the whole pr ocess of e v ang eliz a tion. In this w a y , e v ang eliz a tion is depriv ed of all the neg a- tiv e pot en tial c ons titutiv e elemen ts tha t w ould enable it t o bec ome a pr ocess burdened with excessive bureaucracy focused on approaches, methods, and stra- t egies. P ope Fr ancis clearly and unequiv oc ally criticiz es the primacy of the admi- nis tr a tiv e aspect: “In man y pla ces an adminis tr a tiv e appr oach pr e v ails o v er a pa- s t or al appr oach , as does a c oncen tr a tion on adminis t ering the sacr amen ts apart fr om other f orms of e v ang eliz a tion. ” (E G, 63) E v ang eliz a tion is primarily f ocused o n p eo p l e an d th ei r p r o b l ems, n o t o n f o rms an d mee tin g cert ai n n o rms . T h er e- f or e, i t i s e x tr emel y i mport an t f o r th e p r ocess of e v an g el i z a tion and c a t echesi s t o g e t be tt er acquain t ed with the time and space in which it t ak es place. The incul- tur a tion of f aith is only possibl e if the main f ea tur es of the cultur e within which the f aith is pr oclaimed ar e w ell kno wn. This is the r eason f or the public a tion of this doc umen t, as Ar chbishop Rino Fisichella himself poin ts out, pr esiden t of the P on tific al Council f or Pr omotin g Ne w E v ang elisa tion: “ The need f or a ne w Dir ec- 218 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1 t or y w as born of the pr ocess of incultur a tion which char act erises c a t echesis in a p articu l ar w a y an d wh i ch , esp eci al l y t od a y , d eman ds a sp eci al f ocu s. ” (F i si ch el l a 2020, 2) Pr ecisely bec ause of the c ons t an t and r apid chang e in the socio-cultur al environment of catechesis, such a change is needed which will not be just a change of f orm. Ar chbishop Ar enas, secr e t ar y of the P on tific al Council f or Pr omoting Ne w E v ang eliz a tion, belie v es tha t “ c a t echesis is c alled t o r ene w al tha t c annot c onsis t mer ely of a chang e of s tr a t egy , or simply the de v elopmen t of mor e a ttr activ e di- sc our ses. ” (Ar enas 2020, 4) In addition, the inclusion of these number s in a documen t tha t has a high pri- ority in the adop tion of c a t eche tic al plans in the Chur ch and c on t ains the mos t import an t s tr a t egic de t erminan ts f or the actions of all those act or s in the Chur ch in char g e of pr oclaiming the f aith, c on firms the e x cep tional import ance of “ ec o- logic al eng ag emen t ” and all other c ons titutiv e a tt en tions. As this documen t is intended primarily for bishops, and then for episcopal conferences, priests, dea- c ons, c onsecr a t ed per sons, and c a t echis ts and c a t echis ts themselv es (Fisichella 2020, 1), it is t o be e xpect ed tha t per sons c ompiling c a t eche tic al manuals c on t a- ining plans and me thods of the pr oclama tion of f aith, documen ts of individual episcopal conferences, plans within archdioceses, dioceses and individual parish c ommunities, pr ecisely bec ause of the univ er sal na tur e of this documen t and its import ance f or the pr oclama tion of f aith t oda y , should t ak e in t o acc oun t, if the y h a v en’t d one so al r ead y , th e r el a tio nshi p t o th e en vi r on men t wh i ch f or n o w ex- plicite is not thema tiz ed in c a t eche tic al documen ts of this type. Of c our se, the w a y of dealing with en vir onmen t al pr oblems will depend on the specific cultur e and tr adition within which the Chur ch fulfils its mission, but the basic motiv e, which is the need t o inc orpor a t e en vir onmen t al r ela tions within c a t eche tic al plans, will apparently become one of the key landmarks in the future for catechesis. This is c on firmed b y the documen t “ Journe ying T o w ar ds Car e f or Our Common Home: Fiv e Y ear s Aft er Lauda t o Si ” (JT C) published b y the In t er dic as t erial W orking Gr oup of the Holy See on In t egr al E c ology in 2020. The fir s t chap t er , en titled “E du- c a tion and E c ologic al Con v er sion, ” men tions the import ance of educ a tion, lif elong learning programs, ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, but also catechesis itself . (JT C 85‒91) This documen t pr o vides an e x cellen t s yn thesis of theologic al s t arting poin ts fr om which activities in c a t echesis r ela t ed t o en vir onmen t al pr o- t ection c an be enc our ag ed. (88‒91) Those e ff orts do not tr ans f orm e v ang eliz a tion itself or c all it in t o ques tion in an y w a y , but qu it e the opposit e. The k e y poin ts of c a t echesis, or “ c ons titutiv e a t- t en tion” as the DC c alls them, do not in an y w a y r e flect the Chur ch’ s e ff ort t o adapt or please the g ener al public, t aking in t o acc oun t a passing and s ympa the tic theme tha t pr eoccupie s the f aith ful. The poin t is tha t all these “ c ons titutiv e a tt en tions” pr o vide the opportunity f or the pr oclama tion of the f aith. The a ttitude t o w ar ds the environment is, therefore, more than just a topic that believers occasionally deal with. E cumenic al and in t err eligious r ela tions, per sonal r ela tions with God and neighbour ar e built and impr o v ed ar ound the a ttitude t o w ar ds the en vir o- nmen t as the a tt en tion w e ha v e be f or e our e y es in the pr ocess of e v ang eliz a tion. 219 Zoran Turza et al. - Environmental Engagement in Catechesis Number s 381 and 382 of DC ha v e theor e tic al char act er s, and number s 383 and 384 ha v e pr actic al one s. N umbe r 381 is f ocuse d on e c ologic al c on v e r sion. A ft e r a quot a tion fr om the ency clic al le tt er of P ope Fr ancis “Lauda t o Si ’: On Car e f or Our Common Home” (LS) 105 which de t ects a dispr oportion be tw een t echnologic al de v elopmen t, and “ de v elopmen t in human r esponsibility , v alues and c onscience” emphasiz es ec ologic al c on v er sion. Number 382 brings out the mos t import an t fr a m e w or k in w hic h t he r e la tion be t w e e n f a it h a nd e c olog y m us t be unde r s t ood, tha t ec ologic al eng ag emen t is part of the Chris tian f aith quoting P ope St. John P aul II (1989). So , jus t t o pa y a tt e n tion f or the mom e n t, e v e r y thing tha t Chr is tians do r e g ar d- ing the en vir onmen t is part of their f aith. It c annot be seen diff er en tly . Number s 383 and 384 bring out in the ligh t of the Social T eaching of the Chur ch sug g es tions f or impr o ving ec ol ogic al eng ag emen t: it r e f er s t o ec ologic al men t al- ity , ec ologic al spirituality , in t egr al ec ology and enc our ag es ec ologic al activities men tioning wha t w as alr eady sug g es t ed b y P ope Fr ancis in LS in chap t er s fiv e and six. So, from the point of view of these numbers, it follows that DC strongly re- peats what was obvious from the documents of Social Teaching of the Church for a decade that ecological engagement, which is also connected with the economy, poor and inequalities, is an import an t part of the Chris tian f aith. It seems tha t the c oncep t of “ e c ologic al eng ag emen t ” is the main poin t of this documen t r eg ar ding the a ttitude of belie v er s t o w ar ds the en vir onmen t. Due t o the importance of this term for understanding environmental care in the proces- ses of e v ang eliz a tion and c a t echesis, it is necessar y t o r e f er t o the sour ce t o whi- ch the DC r e f er s when it men tions “ ec ologic al eng ag emen t. ” The documen t r e f er s t o the messag e of P ope John P aul II on W orld Da y of P eace en titled: “P eace with God the Cr ea t or , P eace with all of Cr ea tion. ” (1990) The main idea of the P ope ‘ s messag e c ould be f ormula t ed as f ollo w s: the ec ologic al pr oblem is not only an ec ologic al pr ob lem, but also a mor al one. Aft er a brie f r e vie w of the biblic al the- ology of the cr ea tion, P ope Joh n P aul II c onnects the ec ologi c al crisis with a mo- r ality which is also r ela t ed t o “the lack of r espect f or lif e” (1990). He outlines some possible solutio ns t o the ec olo gic al crisis and c alls f or ne w solidarity among na ti- ons, especially developed countries, warns of poverty, war, lifestyle review and educ a tion with special emphasis on en vir onmen t al r esponsibility . In c oncluding number 16 of this message, the Pope addresses the faithful, reminding them that “ c ar e f or all of c r e a tion is t he ir se r ious oblig a tion” . The sour c e of t his c onc e r n lie s solely in their belie f in God the Cr ea t or . This Messag e f or W orld P eace Da y is, in the full sense of the w or d, the f or erunner of the ency clic al LS and the fir s t mes- sage that has the full character of caring for the environment, which is inextrica- bly link ed t o c aring f or the poor . Wha t the DC r e f er s t o is primarily the f act tha t c aring f or the en vir onmen t is an in t egr al part of a belie v er ‘ s iden tity , tha t is, tha t c aring f or the en vir onmen t s t ems fr om R e v ela tion and f aith in God the Cr ea t or itself. The message of Pope John Paul II is important for Catholics because more than thirty years ago he warned that caring for the environment is something that is em inen tly a ma tt er of the Ch ris tian f aith, tha t it is a mor al pr oblem, ther e f or e, 220 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1 something much more than only the ecological problem and how this problem cannot be blocked because it concerns every man and requires from every man a ne w sol idarity both on a per sonal l e v el and on an i n t erna tional l e v el among na- tions. So , if someone pa y s a tt en tion t o e v er y thing tha t Chris tians do when it c omes t o the en vir onmen t, it is noticeable tha t all of this is an in t egr al part of their f aith. This issue c annot be appr oached diff er en tly . On the othe r hand, numbe r s 383 and 384, f ollo wing the Social T e aching of the Chur ch, pr esen t pr oposals f or impr o ving en vir onmen t al eng ag emen t such as: en- vironmental mentality, environmental spirituality, integral ecology and encourages en vir onmen t al activities b y men tioning wha t has alr eady been said in LS in the fifth and six th chap t er s. Based on these number s, it f ollo w s tha t the DC s tr ongly repeats what has been evident from documents of Social Teaching of the Church for decades that environmental engagement, which is also linked to the economy, the poor and inequalities, is an import an t part of the Chris tian f aith. The main emphases of the numbers dedicated to caring for a common home in the DC co- uld be summariz ed as f ollo w s: 1. Des truction of our c ommon home is a pheno- menon t o which the c a t eche tic al pr ocess mus t be a tt en tiv e, 2. Chris tian c ar e f or a c ommon home arises fr om a Chris tian under s t anding of f aith and R e v ela tion and 3. c aring in a c a t eche tic al pr ocess mus t be under s t ood within the c oncep t of ec o l o gi c al en g ag emen t. In o th er w o r d s, th e c a t ech e tic al p r o cess sh o u l d b e d i r ec- t ed in such a w a y as t o enc our ag e the eng ag emen t of Chris tians in the pr eser v a- tion of the c ommon home. 4. Critical Interpretation of Selected Parts of the Directory for Catechesis (2020) All of these features of ecological engagement are important also because they can help t o mak e a balance be tw een scien tific, t echnologic al and ec onomic appr oach and appr oach tha t is a tt en tiv e t o the beauty of the w orld. Now, regarding described features of ecological engagement it must be posed se v er al import an t ques tions: Ar e ec ologic al pr oblems tr ea t ed enough in this DC? If w e w an t t o t ak e se r iously P ope Fr ancis’ analog y be tw e e n the nucle ar cr isis and en vir onmen t al crisis in LS number 3, c an w e sa y tha t this crisis is inc orpor a t ed enough in the whole documen t? Mor eo v er , if DC departs fr om P ope John P aul II’ s s t a t emen t tha t ec ol ogi c al eng ag emen t i s part of the Chri s tian f ai th then w e c an e xpect tha t w e c an find lots of ar gumen t and c a t eche tic al ins tructions tha t t ak es this s t a t emen t s tr ongly . On the one side, w e c an find f our nu mber s in it tha t em- phasiz e ec ologic al eng ag emen t, and wha t is r eally deligh tful, w e c an also find se v er al outs t anding theologic al s t a t emen ts which put a r ela tionship with na tur e in the righ t Chris tian c oncep t lik e the r ela tionship be tw een the cr ea tion and the W or d of God and litur gy as a place of e nc oun t e r be tw e e n God, man and cr e a tion 221 Zoran Turza et al. - Environmental Engagement in Catechesis which w e men tioned earlier . But on the other side, w e c anno t find in other parts of DC explicite s t a t emen ts on c ar e f or cr ea tion. An e x cellen t e x ample of inc orpor a ting c ar e f or cr ea tion within all aspects of c a t echesis, i.e. r eligious educ a tion, is the book b y Pr of essor Alojzije Hoblaj, r e tir ed pr of essor of c a t echesis and f ormer head of the Departmen t of R eligious E duc a tion and Ca t eche tics a t the Ca tholic F aculty of Theology a t the Univ er sity of Z agr eb, published in 2006, “ Theologic al-Ca t eche tic al Origins of R eligious E duc a tion in E ar- ly Childhood” . The eigh th chap t er of this book is en titled: “E arth - a c ommon t ask. ” In this chapter, Professor Hoblaj writes as if he has already read the encyclical LS. He writ es about the E arth as God‘ s cr ea tion, brings the biblic al f ounda tions of c aring f or the cr ea tur e, principles of ne w beha viour (e. g. ob ser ving nonhuman creatures in a new way, solidarity with the Earth, emphasizing the importance of joining t og e ther and c alling f or r esponsibility t o w ar ds nonhuman cr ea tur es), im- port an t sug g es tions f or beha viour chang e (liv e simpler , politi c al s trug gle, spiritu- ality , Eu charis t, peace - jus tice - cr ea tion) and finally he off er s sug g es tions t o r eli- gious educators and parents how to work with children between three and six years of age. The whole structure of this chapter in a way encompasses the stru- ctur e of LS. It is surprising tha t a t the beginning of this chap t er , he writ es: “ The tr ademark of this thema tic r e flection should be the v er ses of St. Fr ancis of Assisi, pa tr on sain t of friends of ec ology , fr om the Can ticle of the Cr ea tur es: Pr aised be…” (Hoblaj 2006, 93) This eminent example of encouraging catechesis aimed at restoring enviro- nmen t al r ela tions sho w s ho w these t opics c ould be implemen t ed in the c a t eche- tic al pr ocess fr om an early ag e. Considering the import ance of c aring f or the cr e- a t e d-in e v ang e liz a tion and c a t e c he sis, one c a n e spe c ially notic e the lac k of a ne w DC , which does not men tion the c ar e f or cr ea tion in import an t places. These ar e places wher e men tioning c ar e f or cr ea tion w ould be e xpect ed giv en the s tr eng th of the arguments put forward by the document. Wh en th e D C d escri b es a r el a tio n sh i p b e tw een c a t ech esi s an d n e w e v an g el i- z a tion in the fir s t part named “Ca t echesis in the E v ang elizing Chur ch” number s 48‒53, it men tions the import ance of the Chur ch which “ g oes f orth” (E G 20‒24), charity , dialogue but it doesn’t men tion e xplicitly c a t echesis orien t ed t ow ar ds r ene w al of the r ela tionship with na tur e. It would be great if DC described the catechist as one of the leaders caring for cr ea tion. In number 113 DC describes a c a t echis t as a witness of f aith, a t eacher who introduces to faith, a leader and an educator. It is obvious that here we have a g ener al description of the c a t echis t and tha t c ar e f or cr ea tion is included in those f ea tur es, but r eg ar ding the number 382 wher e it is emphasiz ed tha t ec ologic al en- g ag emen t as an in t egr al part of Chris tian f aith and en vir onmen t al crisis mor e de- t ailed and specified r ole of the c a t echis t as a witness of f aith, t eacher , leader and educ a t or who enc our ag es c ar e f or cr ea tion w ould be mor e than w elc ome. Espe- cially in the life of the parish community, the role of the catechist as a leader in c ar ing f or c r e a tion c ould be the dr iv ing f or c e be hind par ish g r oup s de dic a t e d t o 222 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1 c aring f or cr ea tion. The parish or diocesan le v el is one among the se v en le v els tha t the Dic as t e r y f or P r omoting In t e gr al Human De v e lopme n t e nc our ag e s in the se- ven-year LS journey. It is clear from the nature of the DC that catechesis must pay mor e a tt en tion t o pr obl ems arisi ng fr om the en vi r onmen t al cri sis, but ther e i s a lack of ar gumen t a tion and e xplana tion of the r ole of the c a t echis t in this pr ocess tha t c an enc our ag e the cr ea tion and initia tion of parish ec ologic al c ommunities. An e x cellen t s tr a t egic plan f or parish c ommunities as a place t o c ar e f or cr ea- tion w as pr esen t ed in 2012 in a paper in the journal Catechesis by Professor Josip Š i mu n o vi ć, cu rr en t d ean o f th e Ca th o l i c F acu l ty o f T h eo l o gy a t th e Un i v er si ty o f Z agr eb, and Dr ag ana T omić en titled: “E c ology and the parish c ommunity: The po- ssibility of achieving an ec ologic al c ommunity in the parish c ommunity ” . The author s dr e w a tt en tion t o the i mport ance of en vi r onmen t al a w ar eness of e v er y per son and poin t ed out the possibilities of the parish c ommunity in the a w ak ening and de v elopmen t of the same and its member s (Šimuno vić-T omić 2012, 206). In this c on t e x t, the documen t of Cr oa tian bishop s “P arish c a t echesis in the r ene w al of the parish c ommunity ” issued in 2000 should be c onsider ed. (Cr oa tian Bishop s’ Con f er ence 2000) Bishop s adop t a one- y ear plan and pr ogr am a c a t eche tic al pr o- cess with a desire to primarily serve the renewal of parish catechesis in new cir- cums t ances. The author s pr opose a plan and pr ogr am of c a t eche tic al me e tings, as w ell as se v er al pr actic al pr oposals tha t c an enc our ag e cert ain initia tiv es, but also r e viv e the ec ologic al c a t eche tic al c ommunity in their o wn parish c ommuni- tie s in or de r t o build and pr e se r v e a be tt e r w or ld in and ar ound the m se lv e s. The- r e f or e, this documen t lis t ed nine t een special c ommunities of in t er es t, i.e., living r eligious cir cles, off er ed t o adult belie v er s t o choose fr om. Among the living cir cles of believers, there is a special community called the ecological community. Croa- tian bishop s emphasiz e tha t “in our time this c ommunity c an pla y a signific an t r ole in cr ea ting a deeper r eligio us r ela tionship with the cr ea t ed w orld, which c an be achie v ed either thr ough their o wn initia tiv es or thr ough the e ff orts of all pari- shioners, from children, youth and adults to associate with other movements o u tsi d e th e p ari sh an d o n a b r o ad er sc al e” ( Cr o a tian Bi sh o p s’ Co n f er en ce 2000, 121). F ollo wing this e x ample, in r ela tion t o the ne w DC , the r ole of the c a t echis t as a leader and pr omot er of ec ologic al cir cles in parish c ommunities c ould be expanded. A similar shor t c oming is not e d in numbe r 264 in DC de scr ibing c a t e che sis f or adults. Lots of f ea tur es ar e men tioned, but ag ain, not de explicite the importance of c ar e f or the cr ea tion. W e c an r ead about c a t echesis as an initia tion t o f aith, ne w initia tion t o f aith, r e vise d disc o v e r y of the f aith, about c a t e che sis as an an- n u n ci a tio n o f f ai th t o l i f e se ttin gs, c a t ech esi s wi th c o u p l es, c a t ech esi s o f d eep e- ning the faith based upon the Bible, Teaching documents, or lives of the saints, litur gic al c a t echesis, c a t echesis with diff er en t kind of t opics orien t ed t o w ar d par- ticipa tion in the lif e of the socie ty and c a t echesis in the specific cir cums t ances. Once ag ain, c ar e f or cr ea tion ma y be inc orpor a t ed in diff er en t kinds of c a t echesis, but e xplicitly r e f erring t o c a t echesis as a c ar e f or cr ea tion, or similar , it w ould giv e gr ea t impe tus f or deepening the r ole of the Chris tians in en vir onmen t al crisis. 223 Zoran Turza et al. - Environmental Engagement in Catechesis Ther e i s al so an i mp ort an t e x amp l e i n Cr oa tia of r ec ogni zi ng th e r el e v an ce of c a t echesis as a c oncern f or all cr ea tion. Namely , Fr . Bo ž e V ule t a, head of the Fr an- cisc an Ins titut e f or the Cultur e of P eace, a tir eless pr omot er of c ar e f or na tur e, w a t er , and air pr ot ection, t og e ther with his associa t es, has published se v er al pu- blic a tions r ela t ed t o the pr ot ection of na tur e. In the book en titled This glorious Divine world: the faithful and ecology (1997), which c an righ tly be c alled “ ec olo- gic al c a t echism” , the author se ts out the basic principles of Chris tian doctrine, or w a y s of en vir onmen t al educ a tion whose g ener al g oal is »a w e« of na tur e, fr om which other goals arise. In the book Thirst at a spring: My Responsibility for Water (2005) writt en b y Iv an Milano v ić Litr e , Bo ž e V ule t a and R e be k a A nić, the author s poin t out tha t this i s a s tu d y o n w a t er i ssu es i n th e fi rm h o p e th a t th e i n f o rma tio n p r o vi d ed , so me e x amples of pr ophe tic endea v our s, r eligious t e x ts and in t erpr e t a tions, as w ell as samples of individual exercises and prayers will be inspiring enough to achieve c ommon g oals. (Milano vić Litr e – V ule t a – Anić 2005, 6) The public a tion Our everyday air: Climate change and global warming (2007) edit ed b y Iv an Milano vić Litr e, Bo ž e V ule t a and other s, deals with global w arming and clima t e chang e. It off er s pr actic al guidelines f or shaping civic, especially r eli- gious, r esponsibility t o w ar ds na tur e and an incen tiv e f or c oncr e t e eng ag emen t with individuals and diff er en t c ommunities in na tur e pr ot ection. All of these pu- bl i c a tions, i n addi tion t o scien tific da t a on w a t er and cli ma t e chang e and the the- ologic al aspects of c aring f or cr ea tion, pr ovide r eady -made ma t erials tha t ar e appropriate and quite applicable in catechesis. Appar en tly , it c an be c oncluded tha t ther e w as s till r oom in the DC f or dir ecting the c a t eche tic al pr ocess t o w ar ds the pr eser v a tion of e v er y thing cr ea t ed. 5. Conclusion It is a great achievement of the new DC that it directly addresses ecological que- s tions in f our number s: 381‒3 84, and indir ectly in other parts of the documen t. In summary , se v er al import an t theses f or under s t anding the Chris tian a ttitude towards the environment in the process of catechesis emerge from the whole documen t: 1. en vir onmen t al pr oblems ar e one of the main f ea tur es t o which c a- t echesis mus t pa y mor e and mor e a tt en tion in or der t o deal with them pr operly , 2. ec ologic al eng ag emen t is an in t egr al part of the Chris tian f aith and is associa- t ed with salv a tion, 3. cr ea tion is a place wher e God’ s W or d c an be hear d and His nearness e xperienced and 4. c a t echesis help s t o under s t and the w onderful c on- nection be tw een God, man and na tur e tha t is embr aced b y the Chris tian litur gy . The import ance of those issues is mor e than e viden t: DC c alled them »c ons titu- tiv e a tt en tions«, c onsider s tha t ec ologic al eng ag emen t is an in t egr al part of the Chris tian f aith, and r ef er s to the r ole of the cat echis t as a per son who dir ects tow ar ds litur gy as a place wher e the r ela tion be tw een God, man and na tur e ar e embr aced. 224 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1 On sec ond though t, ther e is no r e f er ence t o c aring f or cr ea tion when DC writ es about the r ela tion be tw een c a t echesis and e v ang eliz a tion, when it brings f ea tur es of the catechist and when it describes the catechesis of the adults. But this documen t s till w aits f or na tional and loc al implemen t a tion. In number 10 DC emphasiz ed tha t it brings theologic al and pas t or al principles, and tha t loc al Churches will elaborate it in their contexts. It is to be expected that following this doc um e n t , a nd e spe c ially w it hin t he initia tiv e of Dic a s t e r y f or P r om oting I n t e g r al Human Development of a seven-year journey towards sustainability, preserving en vir onmen t al c ar e as an eminen t f ea tur e of Chris tian iden tity in c a t echesis will find its in t ensiv e implemen t a tion. Abbreviations DC – P on tific al Council f or the Pr omotion of the Ne w E v ang eliz a tion 2020 [Dir ect or y f or Ca t echesis]. DV – Sec ond V a tic an E cumenic al Council 1964 [Dei V erbum] . EG – Fr ancis 2013 [E v ang elii Gaudium]. GCD – Sacr ed Congr eg ation f or the Cler gy 1971 [Gener al Cat echetical Dir ectory]. GDC – Congr eg a tion f or the Cler gy 1997 [Gener al Dir ect or y f or Ca t echesis]. LS – Fr ancis 2015 [Lauda t o Si ’]. References Arenas, Octavio Ruiz. 2020 . Pr e s s C o n f e r e n c e t o present the Directory for Catechesis prepared b y t h e Po n ti fi c a l C o u n c i l f o r Pr o m o ti n g N e w E v an g e li s a ti o n : I n t e r v e n ti o n b y A r c h b i s h o p O c t av i o Ru iz A r e n a s . V a ti c a n . 2 5. 6 . h t t p s : // p r e s s . v at i c an . v a / c o n t e n t / s al a s t am p a / e n / b o ll e t t i n o / p ub b li c o /2 0 2 0 / 0 6 /2 5 /2 0 0 6 2 5 c .h t m l ( a c c e s s e d 1 4 . 1 2. 2021 ). Congregation for the Clergy . 1 9 97 . G e n e r a l D i r e c- t o r y f o r C a t e c h e s i s . V a ti c a n . 1 7 . 4 . h t t p s : // w w w . v at i c an . v a / r o m an _ c ur ia / c o n gr e g at i o ns / c c le r g y / do cu me n t s / rc _ con _ c c a t hed uc _ d o c _1 7 0 4 1 9 9 8 _ di r e c t o r y - fo r - c at e c h esi s _ e n . h t m l ( a c c e s s e d 10 . 11 . 2021 ). Fisichella, Rino . 2020 . 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