By Leela Ramdeen, Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice
As we begin a new year, let us reflect on Pope Benedict XVI’s message for the 43rd World Day of Peace on the theme: “If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation.”
The Holy Father draws on Articles 48 -51 of his 3rd encyclical, Charity in Truth. The Church continues to apply its moral principles and social teaching to social and economic challenges that the world faces. As he stated in Charity in Truth: “The Church’s Social Doctrine illuminates with an unchanging light the new problems that are constantly emerging.”
This Peace Message is timely. It was released a few days before the conclusion of the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December. Those talks led to the “Copenhagen Accord” – a 3 page political declaration. The world waits to see if there will be meaningful follow-up to the Conference.
The Pope observes that “the ecological crisis cannot be viewed in isolation from other related questions, since it is closely linked to the notion of development itself and our understanding of man in his relationship to others and to the rest of creation… The quest for peace by people of good will surely become easier if all acknowledge the indivisible relationship between God, human beings and the whole of creation.”
He says: “Man’s inhumanity to man has given rise to numerous threats to peace and to authentic and integral human development – wars, international and regional conflicts, acts of terrorism, and violations of human rights. Yet no less troubling are the threats arising from the neglect – if not downright misuse – of the earth and the natural goods that God has given us. For this reason, it is imperative that humankind renew and strengthen that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying”.
He recognises that there is an “urgent need for action…for a new solidarity.” He asks: “Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change, desertification, the deterioration and loss of productivity in vast agricultural areas, the pollution of rivers and aquifers, the loss of biodiversity, the increase of natural catastrophes and the deforestation of equatorial and tropical regions?
“Can we disregard the growing phenomenon of ‘environmental refugees’, people who are forced by the degradation of their natural habitat to forsake it – and often their possessions as well – in order to face the dangers and uncertainties of forced displacement? Can we remain impassive in the face of actual and potential conflicts involving access to natural resources? All these are issues with a profound impact on the exercise of human rights, such as the right to life, food, health and development.”
He says that the crises the world faces are ultimately moral:
“Care of the environment must constitute a challenge for all humanity. It’s a matter of a duty, common and universal, to respect a collective good… Our duties towards the environment flow from our duties towards the person… Humanity needs a profound cultural renewal; it needs to rediscover those values which can serve as the solid basis for building a brighter future for all. Our present crises – be they economic, food-related, environmental or social – are ultimately also moral crises, and all of them are interrelated. They require us to rethink the path which we are travelling together…
“Prudence would … dictate a profound, long-term review of our model of development, one which would take into consideration the meaning of the economy and its goals with an eye to correcting its malfunctions and misapplications.”
The Holy Father is right; if we promote a greater sense of ecological responsibility, we would “safeguard an authentic ‘human ecology’ and thus forcefully reaffirm the inviolability of human life at every stage and in every condition, the dignity of the person and the unique mission of the family, where one is trained in love of neighbour and respect for nature.”
To promote integral human development, we must play our part to protect God’s creation and promote harmony between God, humankind, and creation. Join CCSJ on February 23 at our Seminar on the Environment (look out for Advert) when we will present the Archdiocese’s Policy on the Environment and share strategies for promoting better stewardship in our parishes/the nation.
