Pope Francis calls for a "covenant" between people and the
environment God gave us, in his Message for the World Day of Prayer for
Creation to be observed by the Church on September 1st. In the text published
on Thursday, the Pope calls for decisive actions at the upcoming COP27 on
Climate Change and COP15 on Biodiversity, and appeals for the adoption of four
key principles.
- By Deborah Castellano Lubov
The Holy Father made this dire observation in his Message for the annual
World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, observed by the Church on
September 1st.
The ecumenical phase begins on September 1st with the World Day, and
concludes on October 4th, with the feast of Saint Francis.
It is a special time for all Christians to pray and work together to care
for our Common Home.
Anguished plea of mistreatment
The Pope's message began observing how, when listening, we can hear in the
voice of Creation, a kind of "dissonance."
"On the one hand, we can hear a sweet song in praise of our beloved
Creator; on the other," he said, "an anguished plea, lamenting our
mistreatment of this our Common Home."
The sweet song of Creation, the Pope noted, invites us to practice an
“ecological spirituality,” attentive to God’s presence in the natural world.
The Pope invited the faithful to join St. Francis of Assisi in singing:
“Praise be to you, my Lord, for all your creatures,” and the psalmist in
singing, “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!”
“Tragically, that sweet song is accompanied by a cry of anguish. Or even
better: a chorus of cries of anguish. In the first place, it is our sister,
mother earth, who cries out.”
"Prey to our consumerist excesses," he said, "she weeps and
implores us to put an end to our abuses and to her destruction. Then too, there are all those different
creatures who cry out."
He recalled the "countless species dying out and their hymns of
praise, silenced."
The cry of the poor, native peoples, our children
Recalling the poorest among us who are crying out, the Pope said:
"Exposed to the climate crisis, the poor feel even more gravely the impact
of the drought, flooding, hurricanes and heat waves that are becoming ever more
intense and frequent".
Finally, he recalled "the plea" of our children.
“Feeling menaced by shortsighted and selfish actions, today’s young people
are crying out, anxiously asking us adults to do everything possible to
prevent, or at least limit, the collapse of our planet’s ecosystems.”
Time to repent and change
Listening to these anguished cries, he said, we must repent and modify our
lifestyles and destructive systems.
We are called, he said, to a new relationship with God, others and
Creation. "The present state of decay of our Common Home, the Pope
suggested, is not secondary to other global challenges and tragedies, noting it
must be given the same attention.
The Pope called for nations to act, especially at the upcoming UN
conferences dedicated to the environment this year.
Ambitious steps necessary at COP27 and COP15
COP27 on climate change in Egypt in November, the Pope said, represents the
next opportunity for all to join in promoting the effective implementation of
the Paris Agreement.
"For this reason, too," he pointed out, "I recently
authorized the Holy See, in the name of and on behalf of the Vatican City
State, to accede to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris
Agreement, in the hope that the humanity of the 21st century will be remembered
for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities.”
The Pope observed that the effort to achieve the Paris goal of limiting
temperature increase to 1.5°C "is quite demanding," noting "it
calls for responsible cooperation between all nations in presenting climate
plans or more ambitious nationally determined contributions in order to reduce
to zero, as quickly as possible, net greenhouse gas emissions."
Need 'covenant' between people and environment
This means, he appealed, "for 'converting' models of consumption and
production, as well as lifestyles, in a way more respectful of Creation and the
integral human development of all peoples, present and future, a development
grounded in responsibility, prudence/precaution, solidarity, concern for the
poor and for future generations."
“Underlying all this, there is 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 towards whom we are journeying.”
Nations must agree on four key principles
The COP15 summit on biodiversity to take place in Canada in December, the
Pope said, "will offer to the goodwill of governments a significant
opportunity to adopt a new multilateral agreement to halt the destruction of
ecosystems and the extinction of species. "
The Pope called for all efforts to halt the further collapse of
biodiversity, "our God-given “network of life,” and asked for prayers that
nations agree on the following four "key" principles:
1. constructing a clear ethical basis for the changes needed to save
biodiversity;
2. combating the loss of biodiversity, supporting conservation and
cooperation, and satisfying people’s needs in a sustainable way;
3. promoting global solidarity in light of the fact that biodiversity is a
global common good demanding a shared commitment
4. giving priority to people in situations of vulnerability, including
those most affected by the loss of biodiversities, such as indigenous peoples,
the elderly and the young
“Let me repeat: In the name of God, I ask the great extractive industries –
mining, oil, forestry, real estate, agribusiness – to stop destroying forests,
wetlands, and mountains, to stop polluting rivers and seas, to stop poisoning
food and people”
"How can we fail to acknowledge the existence of an “ecological debt”
incurred by the economically richer countries, who have polluted most in the
last two centuries," the Pope said, stressing, "this demands that
they take more ambitious steps at COP27 and at COP15."
The Pope said delay on the part of others, can never justify our own
failure to act.
Decisive action necessary as we approach breaking point
As we reach "a breaking point," the Pope warned, "It is
necessary for all of us to act decisively."
The Pope prayed that these two meetings work to unite the human family
"in effectively confronting the double crisis of climate change and the
reduction of biodiversity."
“Mindful of the exhortation of Saint Paul to rejoice with those who rejoice
and to weep with those who weep, let us weep with the anguished plea of
Creation.”
Pope Francis concluded by inviting faithful and people of goodwill to
"hear that plea and respond to it with deeds, so that we and future
generations can continue to rejoice in Creation’s sweet song of life and
hope."
MESSAGE
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