The Built Environment and Violation of the Imago Dei Privilege: COVID-19 Pandemic; A Call to Heal the Damaged Relationships

Abstract

If there is anything to learn from the universal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the interconnectedness of all things in the universe. “The pandemic has brought us to a crossroads,”1
 says Pope Francis in his message for the world day of prayer for the care of creation. “[It is] the voice of creation admonishing us to return to our rightful place [created in imago Dei] in the natural created order – to remember that we are part of this interconnected web of life, not its masters.”2 this paper resounds the “wake-up call in the face of our rampant greed and consumption”3 for us to re-evaluate our lifestyle, values, and claim of responsibility in our relationship with other creatures in our activity of creating the built environment.