Environmental social engagement praxis: exploring the implementation of socio-ecological documents by the national episcopal conference of Cameroon.

Abstract

From Pope Pius XII (1948) to Pope Francis (2023), the Catholic Church has issued socio-ecological documents emphasising the common good, ecological preservation, sustainable development, and human dignity, paralleling global initiatives such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and COP29 in addressing sustainability, inequality, poverty, health, human rights, and food security. Despite this, theological perspectives on how the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) implements these documents remain underexplored, particularly concerning environmental and social engagement praxis at the community level. This study aimed to propose a socio-eco-theological (SET) framework to support the implementation of socio-ecological documents within the NECC and beyond the wider Catholic Church. Adopting an interpretivist philosophy and qualitative exploratory design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty participants engaged in social justice, peace, and ecological action within the NECC. Findings reveal blocked projects, limited institutional support, absent ecological awareness in pastoral letters, weak grassroots connections, and poor dissemination of documents, highlighting the urgent need for a guiding framework. Accordingly, the study recommends integrating the SET framework into pastoral practice and training, including diocesan ecological zones, interfaith collaboration, eco-catechesis, and the inclusion of creation care in seminarian, religious, and lay formation. This study advances theological and ecological scholarship by introducing the SET framework as a novel foundation for understanding and guiding socio-ecological pastoral engagement within and beyond the Catholic Church in Cameroon.