WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY - en - fr - es - de

 Pope: May we take our proper place as a ‘Restoration Generation’

Pope Francis underlines the importance of urgent action in our collective response to the environmental crisis, in a message for the launching of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, delivered by Cardinal Pietro Parolin

By Vatican News staff writer

Pope Francis has sent a message for the Launching of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration which kicks off on June 5 - the annual celebration of World Environment Day.

“This annual commemoration encourages us to remember that everything is interconnected,” said the Pope about World Environment Day. “A true concern for the environment […] needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society.”

The Pope’s words, addressed to UNEP Executive Director, Mrs. Inger Andersen and FAO Director-General Mr. Qu Dongyu, were delivered in a video message by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin on Friday,

Committing to caring for our common home

Highlighting the importance of the UN Decade, Pope Francis noted that it invites us to make ten-year commitments to care for our common home by “supporting and scaling up efforts to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide and raise awareness of the importance of successful ecosystem restoration.”

Moreover, the Bible tells us that “we are all part of this gift of creation. We are a part of nature, not separated from it,” the Pope said, drawing inspiration from Psalm 19: 1 – 3.

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a call for the protection and revival of ecosystems across the world for the benefit of humans and nature. The Decade runs from 2021 to 2030, which is the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals and the timeline scientists have said is the last chance to prevent catastrophic climate change.The call to act now

Drawing attention to the environmental situation, Pope Francis lamented the “crisis leading to crisis” that we see.

“We see the destruction of nature, as well as a global pandemic leading to the death of millions of people. We see the unjust consequences of some aspects of our current economic systems and numerous catastrophic climate crises that produce grave effects on human societies and even mass extinction of species.”

At the same time, “we risk floods, and hunger and severe consequences for ourselves and for future generations,” the Pope said, adding that “this is what many scientists tell us.”

To respond to this, Pope Francis stressed that “the current environmental situation calls us to act now with urgency to become ever more responsible stewards of creation and to restore the nature that we have been damaging and exploiting for too long.”

“We need to take care of each other, and of the weakest among us,” he urged, warning that continuing down this path of exploitation and destruction of humans and of nature is “unjust and unwise” and is what a responsible conscience would tell us.

“We have a responsibility to leave a habitable common home for our children and for future generations,” he insisted.

Hope

Underlining the presence of hope in spite of the challenges entailed by the environmental situation, Pope Francis pointed at the needed freedom we have to “limit and direct technology” and put it at the service of another type of progress – one that is “healthier, more human, more social and more integral.”

He also went on to acknowledge the new engagement and commitment by several states and non-governmental actors in efforts aimed at promoting integral ecology.

However, he stressed that integral ecology calls for a long-term vision that highlights the inseparability of “concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society and interior peace” aimed at restoring ecological equilibrium, as well as harmony within ourselves, others, nature and God.

Not much time left

Further impressing upon all the urgency of collective action, the Pope reiterated the warnings from scientists that we have the span of this decade to restore the ecosystem.

He added that the “warnings” that we are experiencing, including the Covid-19 pandemic and global warming, push us to take urgent action and expressed hope that the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) on climate change, scheduled for Glasgow in November, will “help to give us the right answers to restore ecosystems.”

Stressing that “ecosystem degradation is a clear outcome of economic dysfunction”, the Pope underlined the need for “a deeper reflection on the meaning of the economy and its goals, as well as a profound and far-sighted revision of the current model of development, so as to correct its dysfunctions and deviations.”

“Restoring the nature we have damaged means, in the first place, restoring ourselves,” Pope Francis said.

Concluding, the Holy Father encouraged everyone to be “compassionate, creative and courageous” as we welcome the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and enjoined all to “take our proper place as a ‘Restoration Generation’.”

MESSAGE

Le Pape aux Nations unies: restaurer la nature, c’est prendre soin de soi

El Papa: "Urge administrar la creación con responsabilidad mirando al futuro"

Papst: Schnell handeln, um das Ökosystem zu retten

GREEN SCHOOLS

 Green Schools: 

Caring for the environment is caring for ourselves

When the demand to pay special attention to environmental sustainability and to what surrounds us "comes so strongly from students", schools have "the duty to respond". That’s according to Maria Grazia Lancellotti, the headmaster of the Liceo Statale Orazio High School in Rome, who leads a Network of Green Schools throughout Italy. Established in December 2019, the network today encompasses more than 800 schools throughout the country.

 

-By Vatican News

 

Maria Grazia Lancellotti speaks of the "call" of the more than 1,300 high school students of the Orazio Lyceum demanding care for our common home. The network was born "on the wave of Fridays for Future, because - she says - we began to see that our students had a great desire to participate in those events. The need to take this direction had already made itself clear back in 2015, which was a pivotal year, with the publication of Pope Francis' Laudato si', a precursor document for all the sustainability issues that were then presented in the UN's 2030 Agenda". The "turning point", reflects Professor Lancellotti, came with "Greta Thunberg's movement and the direct request by young people" for "a pedagogy that is attentive to these issues: let's say that young people have taught us more than we have taught them, in understanding that the times had really been written, that we could no longer wait: we had to get going".

Lancellotti explains that as a network and as a school "it is important that we put virtuous behaviours in plac . The first is to go “plastic free,” so we have started processes to reduce the production and use of plastic and non-recyclable materials; we pay attention to separate waste collection and recycling - not only the recycling of the most common materials but also, for example in our case, the recycling of exhausted cell phones, which are then reused through an association." Recycling containers have been placed in the classrooms and in the corridors, and we try to discourage the use of polluting vehicles during the journey to and from school. We provide bicycle racks and have organized a series of "activities related to awareness through meetings with experts on various topics."

A vegetable garden in the school grounds

The ongoing pandemic has undoubtedly changed our habits. The lockdown, the headmaster explains, "has paralyzed us a bit and forced us to re-think our behaviour. Unfortunately, in terms of safety and hygiene, all of this clashes with what used to be many good practices, because now we have to deal, for example, with the problem of disposing of used masks. As far as detergents are concerned, we and other schools had favoured the purchase of those that are totally biodegradable and sustainable, and now we are trying to find associations and vendors who will give us materials that are better suited to the current emergency.

 

Vatican News

 

 

AQUA FONS VITAE - ORIENTATION ON WATER

Water is the only substance on earth that occurs naturally in solid, liquid and gas forms. Without it there would be no life on our planet. It is also a powerful spiritual symbol associated with the cleansing and purification of the body and the spirit. 

For Christians, baptism by water – itself a symbol of God’s grace – signifies spiritual rebirth.

Aqua fons vitae. Orientations on Water, symbol of the cry of the poor and the cry of the Earth.  

This is the title of a new Vatican document rooted in the Social Magisterium of the Popes, and inspired by work carried out by national and local Churches in different countries.

The document distinguishes three aspects or dimensions relating to water:

1) water for human use;

2) water as a resource used in many human activities, in particular agriculture and industry;

3) water as a surface, namely rivers, underground aquifers, lakes and especially oceans and seas. 

For each aspect, the text presents the related challenges and operational proposals to increase awareness of the issue and commitment at local level. 

The final part of the document proposes a reflection on education and integrity.

In a press release on Monday, the Dicastery also announced that a strategy is being defined to address the situation regarding water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). This will apply to health care facilities belonging to the Catholic Church. 

The press release notes that in poor and developing countries too many sanitation facilities do not have adequate access to water for the most basic needs of cleanliness and hygiene. This places billions of people at risk.

Without clean water, sinks, soaps, toilets and hygiene procedures patients, care staff and families lack the foundation or infrastructure for decent, safe, quality care.

“Births, surgery, infections, epidemics: none of these can be managed safely without water, and the situation is particularly alarming in these weeks marked by the COVID-19 pandemic,” reads the communiqué.

 

 " .... The document Aqua fons vitae is rooted in the teaching of the Popes and inspired by the reflections and experiences of members of national and local Churches, over centuries. Many dioceses, congregations, Caritas organizations, Justice and Peace Commissions, associations of lay people, catholic schools and universities are very actively committed to the promotion of human dignity and the realization of an authentic integral development, particularly in poor and deprived areas, even where Catholics are a minority. In view of the challenges raised by the crisis of the COVID-19, and in the light of the magisterial teaching about the interconnectedness of everything3, be it ecological, economic, political and social, we are called to consider all the elements which contribute to elaborating a new paradigm for a new development model. 

The consideration of water, in this sense, clearly appears to be one of the elements that heavilyimpacts ‘integral’and ‘human’development. 6.The common good promoted and pursued by the Church is not some particular national agenda, but “the sum total of the social conditions which allow people, either groups or individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily”4. These conditions undoubtedly include “a safe environment”5, access to healthcare, sanitation as well as access to potable water. Therefore, these conditions also imply a management of water so as to ensure universal and sustainable access to it, for the future of life, theplanet and the human community. .... 

Read: AQUA FONS VITAE

 

THIS ECONOMIC SYSTEM HAS MADE AN IDOL OF MONEY

Pope: Interview with Italian business daily "Il Sole 24 Ore"

EN - IT- ES - FR -D 

In a wide-ranging interview with Italian national business newspaper, Il Sole 24 Ore, Pope Francis engages with a variety of issues, including: economics, the environment, migrants, Europe, and peace.

By Christopher Wells

The interview with Il Sole 24 Ore revolves largely around socio-economic issues, with a strong focus on the common good. Without denying the importance of individual effort, Pope Francis emphasizes that a community can only grow as a whole people; “social life,” he says, “is not constituted by the sum of individualities, but by the growth of a people.”

Real growth in the community. He says that real growth can occur in a community when we “make room to welcome everyone’s collaboration.” Real growth, he continues, is result “of relationships sustained by tenderness and mercy,” rather than an exclusive focus on success that can lead to “exclusions and waste.”

Pope Francis takes the opportunity to clarify what he means by waste: “It is not simply a phenomenon recognized as the action of exploitation and oppression, but a truly new phenomenon.” The action of exclusion doesn’t simply deprive people of power or wealth, but actually rejects them, throws them out, casts them out of society.”

A person-friendly ethics. This, he says, is why we need a “person-friendly ethics,” which he says can become a “strong stimulus for conversion.” This kind of “person-friendly ethics” can help bridge the gap between profit driven, and non-profit enterprises.

The Holy Father explains that behind every economic activity lies a human person, and insists that the human person must be at the centre of how we think of the economy. “It is work that gives dignity to man, not money.” He identifies a focus on money and profit as a consequence of an economic system “that is no longer capable of creating jobs.”

The human person at the centre.  This economic system, the Pope says, has made an idol of money; but it can be opposed by a system that puts people and family at the centre. He explains that an innovative focus on the greater good, the good of the community as a whole, is ultimately better for companies than an exclusive focus on profit.

In fact, a healthy overall economy, Pope Francis says, “is never disconnected from the meaning of what is produced; and economic activity is always also an ethical fact. He points to the teaching of Pope Leo XIII that free trade is not sufficient of itself to ensure justice; and says that what Leo said of individual contracts is also true of international trade. Quoting Bd Paul VI, Pope Francis says, “Free trade can be called just only when it conforms to the demands of social justice.”

Work and the dignity of the person. Asked about the feeling, experienced by many people, that work is a burden, “an unbearable routine,” Pope Francis says that everyone realizes that it is better to have a job than to not work. Working, he says, “is good because it is linked to the dignity of the person, to his ability to take responsibility for himself and others.” He also describes “the high spiritual meaning” of work, by which, he says, “we give continuity to creation by respecting it and taking care of it.”

Environment. Pope Francis also speaks on a number of other issues in his interview. He calls on Companies to pay more attention to “Working to build the common good”. Noting that most Companies provide professional and technical training, he suggests they do the same with regard to values. “We have reached the limits of what we call our common home”, he says, to the point that we are planning to colonize new planets. “Humanity is no longer the custodian of the earth but a tyrant exploiter.” That is why, whenever we talk about the environment, we are really talking about humanity: “Environmental degradation and human degradation go hand in hand,” says the Pope. “Ecological consciousness needs new ways of living that build a harmonious future, promote integral development, and reduce inequality.” Pope Francis cites his Encyclical Laudato sì, when he confirms that, in order to guarantee resources for future generations, we need to “limit the use of non-renewable resources, moderate consumption, reuse and to recycle.”

 Migrants. Pope Francis acknowledges the challenge posed by migrants, especially to those who living in affluent countries: “Yet there is no peaceful future for humanity except in the acceptance of diversity, solidarity, in thinking of humanity as one family.” he states. Hope is what unites those who leave their homes with those who welcome them. Hope is what drives us to “share the journey of life,” he says, encouraging us not to be afraid “to share hope.” We need to stop talking about numbers, and start talking about people.

Europe. “Europe needs hope and a future,” says Pope Francis. “We never stop being witnesses of hope, we widen our horizons without consuming ourselves in the preoccupation of the present.” Returning to the issue of migration, the Pope recalls the importance of migrants being “respectful of the culture and laws of their host country” so as to favor integration and overcome fear and worry. “I also entrust these responsibilities to the prudence of governments,” he says, “so that they may find common ways to give dignified welcome to our many brothers and sisters who call for help.”

Peace. The interview concludes with Pope Francis referencing his Message for the World Day of Peace this year in which he outlines what he calls “four milestones for action: welcome, protect, promote and integrate.” It is always important that our projects and proposals be inspired by “compassion, vision and courage,” he says, “so as to seize every opportunity to advance the construction of peace.” This is the only way to ensure that “the necessary realism of international politics does not surrender itself to disinterest and the globalization of indifference.”

 Le Pape au Sole 24 Ore: «Les vraies richesses viennent du travail qui crée de la dignité»

Papa Francesco: L'economia al servizio dello sviluppo integrale 

Papst: „Migranten sind eine große Herausforderung für alle“

 El dinero verdadero se hace con el trabajo que crea dignidad y más trabajo

 https://www.vaticannews.va