Environmental Degradation
Excessive Consumption
An Urgent Appeal
We Need a Conversion
A Crisis
We Have Been Tyrants
Neglects the Integrity of Creation
โIt is possible that we do not grasp the gravity of the challenges now before us.โ
Pope Francis, 105
โI urgently appeal for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet.โ
Pope Francis, 14
Consistent & Pivotal Calls to Action
Pope St. Paul VI
โThe care of preserving and improving the natural environmentโฆare deeply felt among the men of our times.โ (Pope St. Paul VI)
โThe progressive deterioration [is creating]โฆrisks provoking a veritable ecological catastropheโ. (Pope St. Paul VI, 3)
โ[H]ow can we ignore the imbalances caused in the biosphere by the disorderly exploitation of the physical reserves of the planet.โ (Pope St. Paul VI)
โTo rule creation meansโฆto transform the worldโฆinto a beautiful abode where everything is respected.โ (Pope St. Paul VI)
Pope St. John Paul II
Introduced ecology as a formal part of Catholic social teaching and an essential part of faith: โChristians, in particular, realize that their responsibility within creation and their duty towards nature and the Creator are an essential part of their faith.โ (World Day of Peace Message, 15)
โ[T]here is an order in the universe which must be respected, andโฆI wish to repeat that the ecological crisis is a moral issueโ. (World Day of Peace Message, 15)
โMan thinks that he can make arbitrary use of the earthโฆas though it did not have its own requisites and a prior God-given purpose, which man can indeed develop but must not betray.โ (Centesimus Annus, 37)
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โInstead of carrying out his role as a co-operator with God in the work of creation, man sets himself up in place of God and thus ends up provoking a rebellion on the part of nature, which is more tyrannized than governed by him.โ (Centesimus Annus, 37)
NOTE: In 1979, Pope St. John Paul II proclaimed St. Francis of Assisi the Patron Saint of those who promote ecology. (Apostolic Letter Inter Sanctos, December 29, 1979)
An even earlier magisterial warning and call to care for our natural environment was made by Pope St. Paul VI who said, in 1971: โMan is suddenly becoming aware that by an ill-considered exploitation of nature he risks destroying it and becoming in his turn the victim of this degradation. Not only is the material environment becoming a permanent menace โ pollution and refuse, new illness and absolute destructive capacity โ but the human framework is no longer under manโs control, thus creating an environment for tomorrow which may well be intolerable. This is a wide-ranging social problem which concerns the entire human family.โ (Octogesima Adveniens, 21)
The โGreenโ Pope
โIf you want to cultivate peace, protect creationโ. (World Day of Peace Message, 1)
Following Pope Benedict XVIโs World Day of Peace Message in 2010, wherein he definitively laid out the Churchโs case for protecting the environment, many media outlets labeled him the โGreenโ Pope.
Indeed, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his concern for the environment consistently throughout his pontificate: โThe earth is a precious gift of the Creator, who has designed its intrinsic order, thus giving us guidelines to which we must hold ourselves as stewards of his creationโ. (General Audience)
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โIn my recent Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, I referred more than once to such questionsโฆas the natural environment is given by God to everyone, and its use entails a personal responsibility towards the whole of humanity, in particular, towards the poor and future generations.โ (General Audience, August 29, 2009)
Pope Francis
Our natural environment has now received a dedicated treatment in Laudato Siโ wherein the Holy Father expressesโฆ โ[H]ope that this Encyclical Letter, which is now added to the body of the Churchโs social teaching, can help us to acknowledge the appeal, immensity and urgency of the challenge we face.โ (Laudato Siโ, 15)
โNature, in a word, is at our disposition and we are called to exercise a responsible stewardship over it.โ (World Day of Peace Message, 9)
The earth โcries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed herโ. (Laudato Si, 2)
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โTragically, the human response to this gift has been marked by sin, selfishness and a greedy desire to possess and exploit. Egoism and self-interest have turned creationโฆinto an arena of competition and conflict.โ (World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation)
The Cause
Ecological degradation stems from:
Excessive Consumption
- โ[M]an is warned of the necessity of replacing the unchecked advance of material progressโฆwith new-found respect for the biosphereโ. (Pope St. Paul VI)
- Seeing our โlives as a series of sensations to be experienced rather than as a work to be accomplished.โ (Pope St. John Paul II, 39)
- โToo many of us act like tyrants with regard to creation. Let us make an effort to change and to adopt more simple and respectful lifestyles!โ (Pope Francis)
- The ecological crisis โcalls for a lifestyle marked by sobriety and solidarityโ. (Pope Benedict XVI, 5)
Inadequate Anthropology
- โThe deterioration of nature is in fact closely connected to the culture.โ (Pope Benedict XVI, 51)
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โMan is certainly the first and truest treasure of the earth.โ (Pope St. Paul VI)
- โAn inadequate presentation of Christian anthropology gave rise to a wrong understanding of the relationship between human beings and the world.โ (Pope Francis, 116)
- โ[N]o peaceful society can afford to neglect either respect for life or the fact that there is an integrity to creationโ. (Pope St. John Paul II, 7)
โWe Require a New & Universal Solidarity.โ
โ[T]o bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral developmentโฆโ (Pope Francis, 13)
โTo seek only a technical remedy isโฆto mask the true and deepest problems of the global system.โ (Pope Francis, 111)
โThat is how we end up worshipping earthly powers, or ourselves usurping the place of God, even to the point of claiming an unlimited right to trample his creation underfoot.โ (Pope Francis, 75)
โThe best way to restore men and women to their rightful placeโฆis to speak once more of the figure of a Father who creates and who alone owns the world.โ
Pope Francis, 75
The Churchโs call for the care for โour common homeโ goes back to Pope St. Paul VIโs foreboding declaration:
โMan is suddenly becoming aware that by an ill-considered exploitation of nature he risks destroying it and becoming in his turn the victim of this degradation. Not only is the material environment becoming a permanent menace โ pollution and refuse, new illness and absolute destructive capacity โ but the human framework is no longer under manโs control, thus creating an environment for tomorrow which may well be intolerable. This is a wide-ranging social problem which concerns the entire human family.โ (Octogesima Adveniens, 21)
The call for an โecology of the human personโ involves issues of the social structure in which we live. These structures can either help or hinder our living in accordance with the truth, and it is here that Catholic social teaching begins to integrate issues of life.
โI readily encourage efforts to promote a greater sense of ecological responsibility whichโฆwould safeguard an authentic โhuman ecologyโ 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 neighbor and respect for nature.โ (Pope Benedict XVI, 12)
The Answer to These Pathologies is the Family
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