Voices of Justice in Non-Fiction Films and in Christianity.

Luís Proença

doi:10.37390/ac.v0i0.56

Abstract

Environmental degradation and one of its effects, global warming, have worsened the inequalities between the rich and the poor among people and nations. The Catholic Church has demonstrated its deep commitment to social justice visibly since the Vatican II, while the most recent Encyclical, Laudato Si1, offered by Pope Francis moves the Church in an unprecedented manner toward the coupling of sustainability and religion to address global inequalities.This paper features a few important dimensions of inequalities to heighten the urgency of global social justice work. It then reviews documents connected to sustainability in Catholic social teaching, with an emphasis on Laudato Si by Pope Francis.Finally, through a brief analysis of a contemporary documentary film, “Virunga” (2014),2 which focuses on a crisis that recently occurred in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this paper illustrates an impactful and effective way to articulate global inequality and mobilize coalitions to protect people, creatures and land against violence and environmental degradation.Social documentaries, in general, represent voices for justice and the common good shared by all major religions, and the documents of the Catholic Church highlighted in the paper offer a concrete trajectory for global justice that we see in cinematic form.

Highlights

We live in a world where global inequalities between the developed and the developing countries are manifested in extreme gaps in food, water, shelter, access to energy, health care, education, and other sociopolitical and financial infrastructures.For more than 50 years since Vatican II, the Catholic Church has been addressing these inequalities
I will reference some of the most impactful documents offered by the Catholic Church, touching on issues related to the environment and human development
De Merode, the Director of the Virunga National Park, was able to affect change through a series of initiatives relying on a diverse coalition among127 local institutions from the private sector, civil society and government agencies committed to the sustainable development of the park’s resources through tourism, electric power infrastructure in rural areas, sustainable fisheries and agriculture

Summary

Introduction

We live in a world where global inequalities between the developed and the developing countries are manifested in extreme gaps in food, water, shelter, access to energy, health care, education, and other sociopolitical and financial infrastructures. Environmental degradation and global warming have reached such an extent that they have worsened the gaps between the have’s and have-not’s, and posed imminent threat to our common existence as human beings. To secure coalitions among communities who are committed to making a difference in bridging the inequality gaps with an emphasis on sustainability, in the first section of this paper, I will provide selective data to illustrate global inequalities. I will reference some of the most impactful documents offered by the Catholic Church, touching on issues related to the environment and human development. I will connect the Catholic teachings to an outstanding documentary film released in 2014, Virunga, illustrating an impactful and effective way to articulate global inequality and mobilize coalitions to protect people, creatures and land against violence and environmental degradation

International Inequalities and Injustices

Findings

Conclusion