LAUDATO SI': INTEGRAL ECOLOGY AND PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR

This essay examines Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato si' from a Latin American perspective and its reception in this part of the world, especially in Brazil. It focuses on two aspects of Laudato si': its dialogical approach, and the connection it makes between ecological issues and poverty. These two aspects allow us to understand Francis's proposal of integral ecology and how the preferential option for the poor becomes central to his perspective. In addition, this essay explains how Latin American theology and pastoral experience are present in Pope Francis's thought.