Am I the only one who wants a discussion on the relationship between this encyclical and its roots in Catholic Social Thought(do most people even know what Catholic Social Thought is,by the way)?
I'll join you for the discussion, what is your background in the area? I'm a former Catholic, grew up UCC, converted to Catholicism in 5th grade, went to catholic school from then through undergraduate and left the church at 23. Admittedly, I was a big climate change denier until around the time I left the faith. I would say the general view of Catholic Social Justice as I understood it is providing for the poor and being good tenants to the world and our talents. What I mean by this is we have a duty to use our talents/skills/opportunities to the best of our abilities, and to waste these gifts from god is a sin (see: the parable of the talents). We also have a duty to make sure we are not wasteful of the earthly resources we are given, such as land, fresh water, etc. With all this in mind we are supposed to use the fruits of our labors to help our fellow man, by feeding the poor, clothing the naked, etc (see corporeal works of mercy). I know it's a bit jumbled, but those are my thoughts.