VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Humanity can not ignore the cries of the earth that’s suffering resulting from greed and the excessive consumption of its resources, Pope Francis said.
In his message for the World Day of Prayer for Creation, the pope said the present climate crisis is a call for men and girls, especially Christians, to “repent and modify our lifestyles and destructive systems.”
“The current state of decay of our common home merits the identical attention as other global challenges equivalent to grave health crises and wars. Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is important to a lifetime of virtue; it just isn’t an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience,” he wrote in his message, released by the Vatican July 21.
The theme of the World Day of Prayer for Creation, celebrated Sept. 1, is “Take heed to the voice of creation.”
Reflecting on the theme, the pope said that there’s “a sort of dissonance” when one listens to the “voice of creation.”
“On the one hand, we are able to hear a sweet song in praise of our beloved Creator; on the opposite, an anguished plea, lamenting our mistreatment of this our common home,” he said.
The pope said the earth has fallen “prey to our consumerist excesses” and to a “tyrannical anthropocentrism,” an attitude during which people think they’re the middle of the universe. Such an attitude is at odds “with Christ’s centrality within the work of creation.”
The pope said the earth has fallen “prey to our consumerist excesses” and to a “tyrannical anthropocentrism.”
Exaggerated self-centeredness, he said, has led to the lack of biodiversity and the extinction of countless and has greatly impacted the lives of the poor and vulnerable indigenous populations.
“Because of this of predatory economic interests, their ancestral lands are being invaded and devastated on all sides, frightening a cry that rises as much as heaven,” he said.
Moreover, the pope said, younger generations feel “menaced by shortsighted and selfish actions” and are “anxiously asking us adults to do all the pieces possible to stop, or at the very least limit, the collapse of our planet’s ecosystems.”
Pope Francis said the Vatican’s July 6 accession to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement was made “within the hope that the humanity of the twenty first century will probably be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities.”
“Because of this of predatory economic interests, their ancestral lands are being invaded and devastated on all sides, frightening a cry that rises as much as heaven,” the pope said.
While the goal of limiting the rise of the earth’s temperature “is kind of demanding,” the pope said it also serves as a “call for responsible cooperation between all nations” to confront the climate crisis by reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
Presenting the pope’s message on the Vatican press office July 21, Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said Pope Francis’ message served as a call for bolder motion by world leaders attending “this 12 months’s COP27 and COP15 summits on climate change and biodiversity.”
“The planet already is 1.2°C hotter, yet latest fossil fuel projects on daily basis speed up our race toward the precipice,” Cardinal Czerny said. “Enough is enough. All latest exploration and production of coal, oil and gas must immediately end, and existing production of fossil fuels should be urgently phased out.”
“Enough is enough. All latest exploration and production of coal, oil and gas must immediately end,” said Cardinal Michael Czerny.
In his message, the pope highlighted the necessity to change “models of consumption and production, in addition to lifestyles” and transform them into something respectful of creation and integral human development.
“Underlying all this,” the pope wrote, “there’s need for a covenant between human beings and the environment, which, for us believers, is a mirror reflecting the creative love of God, from whom we come and toward whom we’re journeying.’
“The transition led to by this conversion cannot neglect the demands of justice, especially for those employees who’re most affected by the impact of climate change,” the pope added.
“The transition led to by this conversion cannot neglect the demands of justice, especially for those employees who’re most affected by the impact of climate change,” the pope added.
He also expressed his hope that the COP15 summit on biodiversity, which will probably be in December in Montreal, will adopt latest agreements that may “halt the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of species.”
Emphasizing the principles needed to stop “the further collapse of biodiversity,” the pope appealed to the mining, oil, forestry, real estate and agribusiness industries to “stop destroying forests, wetlands and mountains, to stop polluting rivers and seas, to stop poisoning food and other people.”
“How can we fail to acknowledge the existence of an ‘ecological debt’ incurred by the economically richer countries, who’ve polluted most within the last two centuries,” Pope Francis said.
“Even the economically less wealthy countries have significant, albeit ‘diversified’ responsibilities on this regard,” he added. “Delay on the a part of others can never justify our own failure to act. It’s mandatory for all of us to act decisively. For we’re reaching a breaking point.”
