for Sept 2020
“The earth is also like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us” (Laudato Si, n. 1).
The encyclical “Laudato Si” has revitalized awareness toward our
common home that is our mother earth. The earth has a dignity, it is not simply
a material object to be exploited for our needs but it has to be respected
because it was created by God to be a place to live in, the home of humanity
both in the present and in the future.
Today the earth is abused and plundered, one can lament; this
lament unites us to all those who are poor and all ‘the rejected' of the world.
Pope Francis invites us to listen to them, urging each and every one,
individuals, families, groups, communities, parishes, religious institutes,
local societies, nations and international communities to an “ecological
conversion”, according to the expression of Saint John Paul II, that is, to
“change course” assuming the responsibility and the loveliness of a commitment
to the care of our common home. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople,
Bartholomew has also given a strong warning: “That the human race destroys the
biological diversity [...] they contribute to climate change [...] they pollute
the waters, the ground, the air: all of these are sins.”
The European Christian Movements among whom the Pallottine Family
is also represented by means of the involvement of my community, the Fifth
Dimension (Quinta Dimensione) dedicated May 9th of this year to
celebrate Europe Day precisely with the following theme:
“An Integral Ecology: a sustainable utopia for Europe”: this was the title
of the event on which the focus is “Yes to creation defending nature and the
environment, gifts of God to be defended with the utmost respectful commitment
for future generations.”
I had the pleasure of collaborating in the preparation of the
event and I was one of the moderators. Many experts from this sector took part,
they demonstrated the very heart of the theme, first of all in a scientific
way, exploring the theme from the point of view of Christian re-discovery and
then with a more reflective moment: an occasion of ecumenical prayer with
representatives of the various Churches, each one of them gifted us with a
moment of grace and reflection in a unique manner. This event in respecting the
regulations governing the present Covid-19 emergency, was carried out online
and is available on YouTube.
A strong spirit of co-operation saw approximately 500 entries on
live channels, and in each of these accounts there were at least two
participants - drawn together from the north and south of Italy in order to
solemnize together the aforementioned Europe Solidarity Day.
As always this special day gathers the diverse expression of all
the Christian churches, in this case in a common project of respect for
creation.
The interventions placed great emphasis on the health of the Earth
and on how we can act, cooperating together for the Common Good, caring with
respect for our common Home, choosing a lifestyle that is sober and which can
be shared, which is ethical and ecological. They helped us understand how much
this theme is felt by all. It unites us all; it brings us to uniting our efforts
and our wills for a better and more humane world, and not just for Europe.
The message of the encyclical and of the speakers is that “only
an integral ecology that encompasses the environment, the economy and
society, culture and daily life, orientated towards the Common Good and to
justice between the generations” is the future.
All of us can observe that there is an environmental crisis and a
crisis of society that has never been seen before now. Our mother earth is
gravely sick; it is on the danger list. In various parts of the world awareness
of the importance of the environment has spread, as well as the preoccupation
for the damage that the earth is suffering.
God entrusted to humankind the task of working for and caring for
the earth. The moment has arrived for us to reflect on how much we have
promised and never carried through with regard to the safeguarding of creation.
Let us take cognisance today the cry of pain that comes from our blue planet,
which is the home of every living species and not just humankind. Humankind
has, through egoism, exhausted all the resources of the planet in a most
inconsiderate way. The time for words is finished; now we need to begin the
process of entering into a new relationship with creation. We need to show a
greater respect in how we use the resources which the earth offers to us
because on this depends the very future of humanity.
We men and women are special in the position occupied within
creation and how we are integrated within creation. If we take upon ourselves
the care of the earth, she, for her part, will take care of us like a mother
takes care of her children.
In the world there exists a harmonious ecosystem in which the
streams, the seas, the hills and all the living beings are interconnected. No
single element can exist without the other. ALL (God) is in all. St. Vincent
reminds us to seek God in all things because we will find Him in all things, to
seek Him always in order to find Him always. We human beings need to learn to
contemplate creation and to appreciate its inbuilt harmony.
In order to build a better world we need a sustainable utopia and
the clarion call of the Pope to an integral ecology can help us to achieve it,
but we cannot promote an integral development if there is no healthy environment.
Creation needs the contribution of each and every one of us.
We have an obligation to do something to change our attitude to
these issues confronting creation, our behavior coupled with our sincere
repentance and conversion will better prove that humankind's end and true
happiness do not reside in economic interests and in selfishness but in love
for our fellow human beings and a love of nature. In this way the world will
transfigure itself and become a terrestrial paradise.
Let us ask God to increase within us the courage to use our
scientific abilities to protect and to safeguard nature and the environment
which He has given to us by living new lifestyles in respect for future
generations.
Pope Francis, on April 22nd last, on the occasion of the
50th Earth Day, said the following, among other things in his
message: “Because of our selfishness we have failed in our responsibility to be
guardians and stewards of the earth. We need only take a frank look at the
facts to see that our common home is falling into serious dis-repair. We have
polluted it, we have despoiled it, endangering our very lives (...) a
Spanish saying (...) states as follows: God always forgives, we humans
sometimes forgive, sometimes not; the earth never forgives.”
The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern
to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral
development for we know that things can change. The Creator does not abandon
us; He never forsakes His loving plan or repents for having created us.
Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home. -
Pope Francis, Laudato Si, 13
Mr. Giuseppe Del Coiro
