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Sunday, September 3, 2017
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SEPTEMBER 1 was not just Eid’l Adha or the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice. It was also the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. It was a day set to be thankful for the noble gift of creation and a time to pledge commitment to its care and preservation. After all, our human dignity and welfare are deeply connected to our care for the whole of creation. We share with you the joint message of Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on that fateful day due to its significance:
The story of creation presents us with a panoramic view of the world. Scripture reveals that, “in the beginning”, God intended humanity to cooperate in the preservation and protection of the natural environment. At first, as we read in Genesis, “no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up – for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground” (2:5). The earth was entrusted to us as a sublime gift and legacy, for which all of us share responsibility until, “in the end”, all things in heaven and on earth will be restored in Christ (cf. Eph 1:10).
However, the history of the world presents a very different context. It reveals a morally decaying scenario where our attitude and behavior towards creation obscures our calling as God’s co-operators. Our propensity to interrupt delicate and balanced ecosystems, our insatiable desire to manipulate and control limited resources, and our greed for limitless profit in markets – all these have alienated us from the original purpose of creation. We no longer respect nature as a shared gift; instead, we regard it as a private possession. We no longer associate with nature to sustain it; instead, we lord over it to support our own constructs.
The consequences of this alternative worldview are tragic and lasting. Human environment and the natural environment are deteriorating together, and this deterioration weighs upon the most vulnerable of its people. The impact of climate change affects, first and foremost, those who live in poverty in every corner of the globe. Our obligation to use the earth’s goods implies the recognition of and respect for all people and all living creatures. The urgent call and challenge to care for creation are an invitation for all of humanity to work towards sustainable and integral development.
We urgently appeal to those in positions of social and economic, as well as political and cultural, responsibility to hear the cry of the earth and to attend to the needs of the marginalized, but above all to respond to the plea of millions and support the consensus of the world for the healing of our wounded creation.
We are convinced that there can be no sincere and enduring resolution to the challenge of ecological crisis and climate change unless the response is concerted and collective, unless the responsibility is shared and accountable, unless we give priority to solidarity and service.
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