CONFLICTS AND LAUDATO SI': TEN PRINCIPLES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION

摘要

Lest this seem like an overly ambitious and frighteningly impossible set of goals for environmental dispute resolution, Pope Francis does hold out hope that "[h]uman beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start, despite their mental and social conditioning." This suggests, then, that in all environmental disputes being waged today, and in the days to come, there is hope for choosing the good. Too often, the scope of global disputes, the complexity of technically ambitious problems, and the seemingly intractable nature of environmental disputes can lead to discouragement. However, the final challenge from Laudato Si' is one full of hope and promise. Pope Francis says, "All it takes is one good person to restore hope!"102 When the challenge of dispute resolution seems to be too great, the call to be that "one person" is even more compelling.