“Our earth speaks to us, and we must listen if we want to survive”

-Pope Benedict XVI, July 24, 2007

(Adapted from the 1991 statement of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Renewing the Earth)

1. A God-centered and sacramental view of the Universe.

In a God-centered (i.e. theocentric) and sacramental view, nature’s beauty and diversity reveal something about God.  God is present and active in Creation, while also transcendent.  “Faced with the glory of the Trinity in Creation, we must contemplate, sing, and rediscover awe,” said John Paul II.

“Reverence for the Creator present and active in nature may serve as ground for environmental responsibility,” wrote the U.S. Catholic Bishops.  “For the very plants and animals, mountains and oceans, which in their loveliness and sublimity lift our minds to God, by their fragility and perishing likewise cry out, ‘We have not made ourselves.’  God brings them into being and sustains them in existence.  It is to the Creator of the universe, then, that we are accountable for what we do or fail to do to preserve and care for the Earth and all its creatures….  Dwelling in the presence of God, we begin to experience ourselves as part of Creation, as stewards within it, not separate from it.”

“Jesus set before me the book of nature.” ~ St. Thérèse of Lisieux

“Accustom yourself to seeing God in everything, because nature is a reflection of God.  Oh!  How He sparkles, shines, dazzles and is radiant in the invisible and the visible.” ~ Padre Benedetto Nardella

“The whole world is asleep, and God so full of goodness, so great, so worthy of all praise, no one is thinking of Him!  See, nature praises Him, and man, who ought to praise Him, sleeps!  Let us go, let us go and wake up the universe and sing His praises!” ~ Blessed Mariam Baouardy

2. A consistent respect for human life, which extends to respect for all Creation.

The Church approaches the care and protection of the environment from the point of view of the human person.  Men and women are created in the image and likeness of God.  Fostering and protecting human life and dignity, from conception to natural death, lies at the heart of the Church’s social teachings.  We now realize that respect for human life and respect for nature are inextricably linked.  According to John Paul II, “Respect for life and for the dignity of the human person extends also to the rest of Creation, which is called to join man in praising God.”

Shamefully, the reverse is also true: Our lack of respect for life extends also to the rest of Creation and is an underlying cause of social injustice and environmental destruction.

The womb is the most endangered human environment in the world today.  The right to life precedes and underlies every other social and environmental issue or group of issues.

3. A world view affirming the ethical significance of global interdependence and the global common good.

Recent ecological concerns have heightened our awareness of just how interdependent our world is.  According to John Paul II, “Today the ecological crisis has assumed such proportions as to be the responsibility of everyone….  Its various aspects demonstrate the need for concerted efforts aimed at establishing duties and obligations that belong to individuals, peoples, states, and the international community.”

4. An ethics of solidarity promoting cooperation and a just structure of sharing in the world community.

We are all part of one human family — whatever our national, racial, religious, economic, or ideological differences.  Solidarity is a firm and preserving determination to commit oneself to the common good, and a willingness to lose oneself for the sake of others, including future generations.  “The ecological crisis,”  John Paul II has written, “reveals the urgent moral need for a new solidarity, especially in relations between the developing nations and those that are highly industrialized.”  Solidarity must take into consideration not only the needs of all peoples but also the protection of the environment in view of the good of all.

“We are all part of God’s Creation — we live as a human family.  The whole of Creation is everyone’s heritage.  All equally created by God, called to share the goods and the beauty of the one world, human beings are called to enter into a solidarity of universal dimensions, ‘a cosmic fraternity’ animated by the very love that flows from God….  We must learn again to live in harmony, not only with God and with one another, but with Creation itself,” said Archbishop Renato Martino at a 1992 UN conference in Rio.

All persons are called to a solidarity of universal dimensions that embraces all of Creation , entrusted to the care of all.

5. An understanding of the universal purpose of created things, which requires equitable use of the Earth’s resources.

God has given the fruit of the  to sustain the entire human family, including future generations.  “The world is given to all, not only to the rich,” said Pope Paul VI.

In the words of John Paul II:

It is manifestly unjust that a privileged few should continue to accumulate excess good, squandering available resources, while masses of people are living in conditions of misery at the very lowest level of subsistence.  Today, the dramatic threat of ecological breakdown is teaching us the extent to which greed and selfishness — both individual and collective — are contrary to the order of Creation, an order that is characterized by mutual interdependence.

6. An option for the poor, which gives passion to the quest for an equitable and sustainable world.

The ecological problem is intimately connected to justice for the poor.  “The goods of the Earth, which in the divine plan should be a common patrimony,” said John Paul II, “often risk becoming the monopoly of a few who often spoil it and, sometimes, destroy it, thereby creating a loss for all humanity.”  According to the U.S. Bishops, “The option for the poor embedded in the Gospel and the Church’s teachings makes us aware that the poor suffer most directly from environmental decline and have the least access to relief from their suffering.”  It is important to note that populations of poor people are never the primary cause of ecological destruction; rather, they are its victims. 

“Those who hold goods for use and consumption should use them with moderation, reserving the better part for guests, for the sick, and the poor” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2405).

Blessed Mother Teresa expressed the option for the poor well when she said, “Suffering today is because people are hoarding, not giving, not sharing.  Jesus made it very clear.  Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me.  Give a glass of water, you give it to me.  Receive a little child, you receive me.  Clear.”

Our duty is not only to share our wealth, but also to promote the values, institutions, and rights that properly generate wealth, including respect for life, liberty, free market economies, private property rights, the rule of law, and the right to a safe environment.  No amount of aid can ever be enough if the leaders of developing countries do not respect their people, open their markets, invest in better health and education, and abide by a legal system that is fair and consistent.

7. A conception of authentic development, which offers a direction for progress that respects human dignity and the limits of material growth.

Much of the destruction of Creation is caused by sin, including the sins of arrogance, greed, and disrespect for life.  Add to that human ignorance and error.  These lead to rampant consumerism, haphazard development, social injustice, the indiscriminant application of technology, and ultimately violence.  John Paul II has said, “In his desire to have and to enjoy rather than to be and to grow, man consumes the resources of the Earth and his own life in an excessive and disordered way….  The mere accumulation of goods and services, even for the benefit of the majority, is not enough for the realization of human happiness.”

Instead of limiting ourselves to mere “sustainable development,” Catholics strive for more: We strive for authentic development.  Numerous social conditions, including the right to life, liberty, respect for the person, food, clean water, clothing, health, work, education and culture, peace, security, the right to establish a family, and a safe and beautiful environment, impact our ability to realize our human dignity and reach our full potential.  Humankind carefully and wisely develops Creation so that the whole of Creation reaches its full potential, according to God’s will.

A full Introduction to Catholic Environmental Justice and Stewardship Edited by Bill Jacobs, ecologist and director of the Catholic Conservation Center