Posted on 08/29/2006 5:59:45 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI delivered a strong warning against environmental damage, saying it was aggravating the already heavy burden on the world's poor.
The pope, speaking at his summer villa outside Rome Aug. 27, expressed support for the Italian church's first day dedicated to the protection of creation, which was to be celebrated Sept. 1.
The pope said the created world was a great gift of God but is presently "exposed to serious risks by life choices and lifestyles that can degrade it."
"In particular, environmental degradation makes poor people's existence intolerable," he said.
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church says the world's poor, who often live in polluted slums, are connected to the environmental crisis. In cases of poverty and hunger, it is "virtually impossible" to avoid environmental exploitation, said the 2004 social doctrine.
Pope Benedict said, "In dialogue with Christians of various churches, we need to commit ourselves to caring for the created world, without squandering its resources, and sharing them in a cooperative way."
The Italian initiative aimed to promote the church's teaching on care for the environment. In churches throughout the country, the faithful were being asked to pray and to meditate on ecological damage.
In July, the pope sent a message to Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, praising his efforts in reminding Christians of their duty to protect the environment. In that message, the pope warned that the ecological balance of the Amazon region was under threat.
THIS is the most pressing thing on the Pope's mind?
No - it's one of the hundreds of statements he'll make this year.
Much of our pollution is unavoidable, and I daresay that I am "ok" with that. It is deliberate pollution, and the actions of certain governments, Russia and China come to mind, that routinely dump chemicals into their waterways that I have issue with, and I think that is what Pope Benedict is getting at here.
It is that type of pollution that harms everyone, especially the poor, and the Pope should press for us to take care of the world that God gave us. The Lord gave us dominion over the Earth and the beasts of the land/sea/air, but not the power to exploit and destroy it recklessly for our own selfish ends. I think the Pope is right in standing up for the poor and the environment, as long as he does not push for unrealistic changes that would hurt the world's economy, such as the elimination of the use of fossil fuels. (Keep in mind the poorest areas of our major cities are inhabited by the poor who cannot fight it or move out of it). This is where the faith based groups and other charities can help, otherwise the government is there to enforce the laws that already exist.
I am sure the knee-jerk fools will be here shortly to attack the Pope as an "environmentalist nut" without reading the article or actually giving the situation much thought.
I like the environment as much as the next guy because I am an outdoors man, but at the same time, I am no tree hugger.
Outdoorsmen are the true environmentalists. The lefty nutjobs have given the word a bad taste, but those of us who enjoy the outdoors know that we must steward it and use it wisely.
Teddy Roosevelt was the greatest of them all in this regard, and he knew that conservation of our resources also meant using them.
You are absolutely right.
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