A NEW ECOTHEOLOGY CENTRE IN OXFORD MICHAEL BARRETT In the last twenty years or so, with the rise of awareness around the world of the threats to humanity and to other species of the consequences of man-made climate change, environmental pollution, and ecological breakdown, the field of ecotheology has moved mainstream, from its former position on the fringes of academic religious discussion, to being a subject of current interest at a time when religious organizations are struggling to be seen as relevant in an increasingly secular world. On 28 June this year the official launch will take place of Oxford?s newest academic body, the Laudato Si? Research Institute (LSRI) which takes its name from the 2015 papal ?encyclical? Laudato Si?: On Care for Our Common Home. As its name implies, this document is the Vatican?s formal response to the current ecological crisis, in which Pope Francis sets out his radical vision on a range of environmental issues for the billion or more Catholics around the world, putting ecological and social justice at the heart of the church?s faith and practice. LSRI?s stated mission is to undertake multidisciplinary research ?for societal transformation, at the intersections of theology, ecology, and the social and natural sciences, on the most pressing environmental issues of our day?.
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