Annual Bergoglio Lecture: You Save Humans and Animals Alike, O Lord (Ps 36:6): Reshaping Our Imagination of Salvation
Sr. Elizabeth A. Johnson, C.S.J., Distinguished Professor Emerita of Theology, Fordham University
Creation theology holds that mountains, seas, animals, plants, the climate of our planet, the Milky Way Galaxy, indeed the whole universe are all involved in the story of God’s self-bestowal to creatures in creation, incarnation and final transfiguration. The problem with the Western church’s singular focus on redemption is that it has too often limited itself to human salvation, often in a highly individualistic way, and in terms that at times paint a picture of an angry God in need of satisfaction. This lecture explores the recent flowering of insight into the cross of Christ so that, faithful to the biblical promises of a new heaven and a new earth, salvation can be seen to involve the whole creation. As Pope Francis poetically wrote, “each creature, resplendently transfigured” will share in unending plenitude when “at the end, we will find ourselves face to face with the infinite beauty of God” (Laudato Si’, 243).
Organized by the Center for Catholic Studies at Sacred Heart University