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Matthew 25
…whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine,
you did for me.
The Social Justice Newsletter
of St. Mary's Catholic Center, College Station, Texas
April 2015
Care for God’s Creation
Throughout his papacy, Benedict XVI reminded us that God gave us the task of cultivating and caring for His creation. More
recently Pope Francis blamed our culture of waste for our inability to care for creation. He suggested that our culture of
consumption leads both to our reckless disposal of land, resources, and food, and to our neglect of our brothers and sisters. He
also denounced our culture for being obsessed with money, saying “Man is not in charge today; money is in charge, money
rules.” In this month issue of Matthew 25 we are previewing Pope Francis encyclical about Care for God’s Creation coming up
this summer and the connection between care of creation and care for the poor.
Concern for the poor and for creation in the ministry of Pope Francis
(Summary of a lecture at St. Patrick’s Pontifical University, Ireland, March 2015)
by Cardinal Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Pope Francis intends to publish an encyclical letter later work of creation is a duty, irrespective of the causes of climate
this year on the theme of human ecology. It will explore the change.” The Pope views this duty as grounded in the primal
relationship between care for creation, integral human Garden of Eden: humankind is placed in the Garden by the
development and concern for the poor. The phrase “integral Creator to “till it and keep it” (Gen 2:15), thus involving a vital
ecology” seems primed to become the encyclical’s central and reciprocal relationship between humanity and the created
idea. Cardinal Turkson describes it as “the key to addressing world.
the inter-related issues of human ecology, development and
Cardinal Turkson explains this further using the biblical
the natural environment.”
theme of distributive justice: in the Scriptures, the “just person”
Its first principle: “the call to be protectors is integral and is one who preserves communion with God, with neighbor and
all-embracing.” Here he draws from Pope Francis’s inaugural with the land, and by doing so, also makes peace! Being a
homily, which used the biblical figure of St. Joseph to unite the protector of creation, of the poor, of the dignity of every human
protection of human family and society
person is sine qua non of being
“Creation is not some
with the care for creation. By drawing
Christian, of being fully human.
deeply from scripture and Catholic social
The third principle concerns “moral
possession that we can lord
thought in addition to natural reason,
conversion
and a change of heart.”
over for our own pleasure; nor,
cardinal Turkson clarifies that integral
While Turkson acknowledges the
even less, is it the property of
ecology “is not some narrow agenda for
necessity of “binding regulations,
only some people, the few:
greening the Church or the world. It is a
policies, and targets” for addressing
creation is a gift, it is the
vision of care and protection that
“poverty and climate change,” he also
embraces the human person and the
emphasizes the wisdom of Pope
marvelous gift that God has
human environment in all possible
Francis’ namesake, St. Francis of Assisi.
given us, so that we will take
dimensions.” This is nothing new: Pope
His love for creation, for creatures and
care of it and harness it for the
Francis continues the thought of his two
for the poor, are one, they form an
benefit of all, always with great
predecessors St. John Paul II and Pope
integral whole. Turkson cites the uneven
respect and gratitude.”
Emeritus Benedict XVI.
results of the international efforts to
“Compelled by the scientific evidence
alleviate
poverty
(e.g.,
Millenium
(Pope Francis May 21, 2014)
for climate change,” Turkson says, “we
Development Goals) and climate change
are called to care for humanity and to respect the grammar of (e.g., 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change)
nature as virtues in their own right.” When discussing the explaining that although important and helpful, they are not
causes of climate change, Turkson cites the scientific enough in themselves to sustain change in human behavior.
consensus about overall global warming, as summarized in As Saint John Paul II put it, we require an “ecological
the 2014 report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on conversion”, a radical and fundamental change in our attitudes
Climate Change. Noting that even the compelling consensus to creation, to the poor and to the priorities of the global
of over 800 scientists of the IPCC has its critics and its economy. Religious insights into creation are necessary to
challengers, he remarked that according to Pope Francis, bring about the “ecological conversion” that is required by
even such deniers are not released from ecological these ominous “signs of the times.”
responsibility. “For the Christian, to care for God’s ongoing
Edited by Clotilde Pichon, Director of Social Ministries, [email protected]
The fourth principle calls for a new global solidarity, one in
which everyone has a part to play and every action, no matter
how small, can make a difference. In July 2013 Pope Francis
made an explicit call to solidarity: “The culture of selfishness
and individualism that often prevails in our society is not what
builds up and leads to a more habitable world: it is the culture
of solidarity that does so, seeing others not as rivals or
statistics, but brothers and sisters.”
One can see how unified the main themes addressed by
Pope Francis have been: the care for the poor, the care for
creation, and the horizon of hope. In this, we have the core
elements of an integral ecology which in turn provides the
basis for authentic and sustainable approaches to human
development.
Catholic Social Teaching, Theme # 7: Care for God's Creation
We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a
requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s
creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.
(www.usccb.org)
Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, so that we can protect creation!
(Homily of Pope Francis, March 19, 2013)
“The vocation of being a “protector”, however, is not just something involving us
Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone. It
means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells
us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us [. . .] In the end, everything has been entrusted
to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God’s gifts!
Whenever human beings fail to live up to this responsibility, whenever we fail to care for
creation and for our brothers and sisters, the way is opened to destruction and hearts are
hardened. Tragically, in every period of history there are “Herods” who plot death, wreak
havoc, and mar the countenance of men and women.
Please, I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic,
political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be “protectors” of
creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the
environment. Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of
this world! But to be “protectors”, we also have to keep watch over ourselves! Let us not
forget that hatred, envy and pride defile our lives!
To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with
tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft of light break
through the heavy clouds; it is to bring the warmth of hope! For believers, for us Christians,
like Abraham, like Saint Joseph, the hope that we bring is set against the horizon of God,
which has opened up before us in Christ. It is a hope built on the rock which is God.
To protect Jesus with Mary, to protect the whole of creation, to protect each person,
especially the poorest, to protect ourselves: this is a service that the Bishop of Rome is
called to carry out, yet one to which all of us are called, so that the star of hope will shine
brightly. Let us protect with love all that God has given us!”
“Nature, in a word, is at
our disposition and we
are called to exercise a
responsible stewardship
over it. Yet so often we
are driven by greed and
by the arrogance of
dominion, possession,
manipulation and
exploitation; we do not
preserve nature; nor do
we respect it or consider
it a gracious gift which we
must care for and set at
the service of our
brothers and sisters,
including future
generations. (World Day
of Peace, January 2014.)
“It’s Our Turn To Lead” (Earth Day 2015, April 22)
(from Education for Justice, a Project of the Center of Concern)
“It’s Our Turn To Lead” is the theme for Earth Day 2015, calling on individuals, grassroots
organizations, community groups to unite and to convey a common message to political
leadership on the national and international level: we cannot wait any longer for substantial
change in policies and programs and for new initiatives to reverse the growing problems of
climate change and environmental degradation. Creation is a gift to all, and we all have the
responsibility to protect this gift…..
Environmental problems can no longer be separated from issues of health, workers’ rights,
poverty, and human trafficking. Sustainable development that considers the long-term effects
on people and the planet must out-rank economic development that is more concerned with
immediate high profits for a few than for human flourishing for all, now and in the future.
It is the people’s time to lead and ensure that the world’s political leaders finally sign a significant, binding, global climate
change treaty to stop and if possible, reverse the environmental degradation that is more and more visible around the world. It is
time for citizens and organizations to divest from fossil fuel-driven production and fund renewable energy sources. It is time we
ensure that all God’s children live in healthy and secure environments, as Pope Francis has declared.
Resources
On Catholic Teachings on Environmental Ecology and Human Ecology: www.catholicclimatecovenant.org/;
www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/environment/; www.catholicecology.blogspot.com/.
On Earth Day: www.earthday.org/.