**5. In search of global ethical standards and a new spirituality**

*1. No peace among the nations, without peace among religions. 2. No peace among religions, without dialogue among religions. 3. No dialogue among religions, without global ethical standards. 4. No survival of our Globe in peace and justice, without a new paradigm of international relations based on global ethical standards. (HANS KÜNG).*

The German theologian Hans Küng [2, 3] cultivated, over the last thirty years of his life, these four principles as four "mantras" of his deepest convictions. According to this thinker, a Global Ethics Project requires the alliance of believers (followers of religions) and non-believers (followers of other orientations) for a new common *basic ethos*. There is a basic rule of humanity which is human dignity, that is, "*every person* 

*Integral Ecology and Spiritual Dialogues DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105126*

*must be treated humanely*." And there is also the so-called golden law, present in many sacred texts: "*What you do not want to be done to you, do not do to anyone else*." (See [3], p. 12).

The author centrally commented on the great significance represented by the Declaration on the World Ethos, formulated by the Parliament of Cosmic Religions, in 1993, in Chicago. The declaration highlights some common ethical principles and essential guidelines, such as the obligation for a culture of non-violence and respect for life; the obligation of a culture of solidarity and a just economic order; the obligation for a culture of tolerance and a life of authenticity; and, finally, the obligation for a culture of equal rights and the partnership of men and women.

According to Hans Küng,

*This clarification should be studied and discussed intensively in all our groups, parishes, in religious and ethical teaching: it is written in the language of our time, it is generic, but not abstract; it is concrete, but not casuistic; it is critical and simultaneously hopeful" ([3], p. 13).*

In this sense, it is very opportune, from a more spiritual perspective, to also make here, together with Hans Küng, a particular reference to the Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff, who leads us freely along paths of thought where new ethical demands fertilize new proposals for spirituality.

Indeed, the new requirements call for a spirituality that radically changes us in our practices. May it make us return to the true path of justice. Leonardo Boff, in "Reflections of an old theologian and thinker" [4], points out that:

*The singularity of our time lies in the fact that spirituality has been discovered as a dimension of the depths of the human being, as the necessary moment for the full blossoming of our individuation, and as a space of peace amid social and existential conflicts and desolations ([4], p. 166).*

Spirituality generates inner change. The author reminds us of a radical thought of the great Eastern religious leader Dalai Lama: *"Spirituality is that which produces a change within us! (If it doesn't produce a transformation in you, it's not spirituality!).*" The author comments on this sentence, stating that there are changes and changes. The human being is a being of changes because he is never ready. However, there are "*changes that do not transform its basic structure*," and there are changes which are true transformations "*capable of giving new meaning to life or opening new fields of experience and depth, toward the very heart and the Mystery of everything. It is not uncommon in the realm of religion that such changes occur. But not always*." ([4], p.165–166).

This manifestation of the value of spirituality, as a regenerating force, is supported by the author's own cry, which tells us: "*let us create judgment and learn to be wise and to prolong the human project, purified by the great crisis that will surely crush us.*" ([4], p. 158). He adds:

*The Judeo-Christian scriptures encourage us: "Choose life, and you will live." (Dt 30:28), and God presented Himself "as the passionate lover of life" (Wis 11:24). Let us move quickly, for we do not have much time to lose. ([4], p. 159).*

It is a little cry added to infinite other cries that rise in every corner of the Earth, chorusing the great and unfathomable mystery of love, expressed within the Christian tradition, in the "*regenerating cry*" of Jesus Christ. However, neither Christianity nor any other religion has a monopoly on spiritualities. And not even religions in their total sum can encompass the existing expressions of spirituality.

There are, however, some proposals that offer a horizon of reference that facilitates dialogue with the present moment. Specifically within the traditions of spirituality, cultivated in Catholicism, I want to highlight a brief consideration made by the Brazilian Jesuit Lúcio Flávio Cirne [38] when he refers to two important paradigmatic paths in the Christian tradition: the spiritual heritage of Francis of Assisi, known above all for the famous "Canticle of Creatures," which expresses praise to the Highest God, humanity that becomes the sister of creatures and the respect and admiration for the entire created world; and the legacy of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, in which the Principle and Foundation itself presents a way of life in which God, human beings and the environment (the world) are intimately interrelated; finding God in all things and all things in God is the great horizon in the "prayer to reach love" of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises (See [38], pp. 191–197).

Perhaps we can describe it as an imperative that, in terms of spirituality, what is expected of humanity, that is, of us, today, is the disposition of our hearts to seek the best paths for the construction of life-generating societies; to rebuild ourselves in our ability to recognize the other in their dignity; to be indignant in the face of scandalous and unacceptable inequalities, and the inhuman situation experienced by many brothers and sisters; to take care of life and the gifts of creation, impelled by the love for every life that will pulsate on this Planet Earth, in the future. It is the willingness to be, in everyday life, cultivators of socio-environmental justice. These are proposals that cut across all religious traditions, in one way or another, and overflow them in many ways. They are propositions that have secure anchors in Franciscan spirituality and Ignatian spirituality, seen in an integrated way. The testimony of Holy Father Francis demonstrates this.

### **6. The promotion of justice: an operational essay**

Since 2015, the Social and Environmental Justice Network of the Jesuits of Brazil has been nurturing a concept of socio-environmental justice developed within the horizon of *integral ecology* and theology of reconciliation, seeking a sufficiently didactic and comprehensive format that could be of easy operability in transforming practice. It intends to cover basically all dimensions of social life, involving personal and interpersonal relationships, relations with society and in society, and relationships with natural assets and the environment.

To shed new light on the present essay that puts "*integral ecology and spiritual dialogues*" on the agenda, I believe it may be useful to present a brief synthesis of the core of the definition of this operational concept used, as expressed in the "Marco de Promoção da Justiça Socioambiental."

The concept of socio-environmental justice13 is related to the broad concept of *integral ecology* and is consistent with the theology of reconciliation. It is defined operationally by an internal transversal dynamic, showing three dimensions or

<sup>13</sup> The main content of this item is an adaptation from a collective production, coordinated by the author of this essay, presenting an operative concept of socio-environmental justice [7]. Already published by the author in another article [39].

#### *Integral Ecology and Spiritual Dialogues DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105126*

thematic vectors in the coexistence within our great "Common Home" and three levels or strategic spaces of incidence.

The three dimensions of socio-environmental justice, that is, emphases or thematic vectors, which help to delimit specific coordinates inherent to socioenvironmental justice practices, are 1. Recognition of the dignity of all human beings within the different ethnic-racial roots, religious beliefs, different generations, gender, worldviews, and options, always looking for ways to establish the dialogue, the value of plurality, the reception of others, of the different—for example, migrants and refugees—and the care of the vulnerable in their dignity; 2. Solidarity with the world's poor and discarded and overcoming social inequalities, promoting universal access to basic rights to work, social assistance, social security, health, housing, education, food, and national identity. Surveillance and advocacy for public policies, political life, and institutional transparency. 3. Caring for the gifts of creation: Conservation, preservation, and proper use of natural gifts, to care for healthy ecosystems and life for the future of Planet Earth and its inhabitants, and special attention to our way of being, living, and working, and the diversity of life in different environmental biomes.

The three levels of incidence, that is, the different strategic spaces in their exercise, considering the complex relationship between concrete and abstract, empiricism and theory, or the narrowest and the broadest, in each of the dimensions or thematic vectors of socio-environmental justice, are 1. The level of knowledge production, through the recognition of the different ways of knowing and perceiving life and things, far beyond the mere knowledge disciplined by the academic world, highlighting the search for overcoming the abyssal line that separates, on the one hand, academically valued knowledge, and, on the other hand, knowledge excluded from the rational-scientific world. We highlight, on one side, the appreciation of diversity in the perception of reality and, on the other side, the perverse process of negationism and superficialities of all kinds dominating today's culture. 2. The level of decision-making in society, with an attitude of open and non-excluding cultivation of knowledge, respecting the place of speech of everyone, and imprinting increasingly democratic practices is, without a doubt, a fundamental contribution to higher success in management, accounting for an authentic and broad culture of participation and recognition of the dignity of the subjects involved in decisions, politics, economy, and social, cultural, and institutional organization. It is fundamental when disbelief in politics and institutions is growing. 3. The level of everyday practices is the real ground of care within personal and collective practices in everyday life. It is the field of daily life, of day-by-day simplicity, of care, and justice in life as it happens; the space and time of deep sedimentation of the care for our Common Home, in the living, witnessing the recognition of the other within their cultural, religious (and other) specificities, however different they may be if compared to ours. It is the level of wisdom nurturing and spiritual deepening.

In other words, in our search to promote socio-environmental justice (social and environmental justice) through the care of the radical recognition of human dignity, care for the commitment to combating social inequalities, and care for the gifts of creation, we seek to be attentive to the most appropriate spaces for the exercise of incidence or transformative practice, which may be the level or place of ideas and knowledge, the level of participation and direct influence with the different forces concerning society, and/or the particular level of personal witness and community within the simplicity of our daily lives. It is never enough to repeat: All of this will find more connectivity and more "links" as we evolve in our *spiritual dialogues*.

Obstacles, however, are always alive and glaring. Perhaps one of the most serious obstacles is the tremendous mismatch (sometimes abysmal distance) between theory and practice in academia; between the promises of political discourse and the search for real solutions to problems; between the often calculating or alienated/alienating formulation of religions and religiosities and the effective spiritual experience in caring for life and dignity in everyday life; between immediate and superficial reactions and reactions thought out and discerned in knowledge. It is necessary that the curtains of hypocrisy, superficiality, reductive formatting, and corruption—in short, alienation—be broken in all spheres.

There is nothing better than *spiritual dialogues* to facilitate these ruptures and purify our practice of justice (socio-environmental justice) at all levels and dimensions. If we draw our attention to the original questions in the sacred text of the Judeo-Christian and Muslim traditions, we can summarize them in the following basic questions: "*Where are you"?* This is how God questioned Adam. (Gen 3,9).14 *"Where is your brother"?* This is how God challenged Cain. (Gen 4,9). *"How is the creation"?* This is how God challenged humanity, not letting it forget its mandate to take care of everything. (Gen. 1, 26–31; 2, 15).15 The questions are reproduced in the Christian Bible. Their meaning also resonates in the sacred texts of other traditions. God challenges humanity, which hides from itself by cowering in denialism. God challenges humanity throughout history and through all religions. These are questions that have resonated in the universe since the dawn of humanity. These are questions that humanity asks itself. Adam hid himself. Cain killed Abel. Humanity has forgotten.
