In his 2015 Papal Encyclical, Laudato Si’, in

which he addresses climate change and our collective responsibility to

care for our “common home,” Pope Francis , S.J., observes that, “Climate

change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental,

social, economic, political, and for the distribution of goods.”

Prompt 1 question:

Much has been written about the environmental implications of climate

change, but less about the distribution of goods or the social,

economic, and political implications. Which one of these less studied

aspects of climate change seems to you most worrisome for our “common

home,” and why?

Prompt 2
Speaking about education, Dr.

Martin Luther King once said, “The function of education is to teach one

to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus

character—that is the goal of true education.’’

Prompt 2 question:

Critical thinking is a central goal of Jesuit education, and at LMU

you’ll be asked to think critically and intensively in every class. Dr.

King suggests that critical thinking results in our ability to inform

intelligence with character, and strengthen character with intelligence.

Please talk about a situation that demanded critical thinking from you,

and how your choices or decisions integrated intelligence and

character.

Prompt 3
A motto often associated with

Jesuit and Marymount schools is ‘‘Educating men and women for others.’’

Fr. Pedro Arrupe, the former head of the Jesuits, once said that ‘‘our

prime educational objective must be to form men and women for others,

who believe that a love of self or of God which does not issue forth in

justice for the least of their neighbors is a farce.’’

Prompt 3 question:

What do you think Fr. Arrupe meant when he said this? Please give an

example of someone you know, other than your teachers and parents, who

works for justice for the least of their neighbors.

Student: select prompt 2 and be descriptive and clear as possible.