Pope Benedict XVI Blog

What did the Pope say About the Environment? He called for a 'Human Ecology'

By Deacon Keith Fournier
12/17/2009

Catholic Online (http://www.catholic.org/)

'Correct understanding of the relationship between man and the environment will not end by absolutizing nature or by considering it more important than the human person'


'If the Church's magisterium expresses grave misgivings about notions of the environment inspired by ecocentrism and biocentrism, it is because such notions eliminate the difference of identity and worth between the human person and other living things. In the name of a supposedly egalitarian vision of the 'dignity' of all living creatures, such notions end up abolishing the distinctiveness and superior role of human beings. They also open the way to a new pantheism tinged with neo-paganism, which would see the source of man's salvation in nature alone, understood in purely naturalistic terms.' (Pope Benedict XVI)

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) – Wednesday morning after prayer and saying my goodbyes to my family I began the next of my morning rituals. I searched the virtual community for the latest news. Most reports which purported to cover the release of the letter from Pope Benedict XVI for the World Day of Peace entitled “If You Want to Cultivate Peace protect creation” bore such absurd titles as “Pope Goes Green”. That included Reuters! The content was far worse.

The reports intimated that the Pope had somehow joined the fringe of the environmental movement.In fact, he called for a proper stewardship of the environment rooted in our obligations to - and solidarity with - one another. We have been given to one another as gifts. Creation has been given to us as a human community, with responsibilities which we must now share. I sent the following excerpt from the letter to a few friends:

"There exists a certain reciprocity: as we care for creation, we realize that God, through creation, cares for us. On the other hand, a correct understanding of the relationship between man and the environment will not end by absolutizing nature or by considering it more important than the human person. If the Church's magisterium expresses grave misgivings about notions of the environment inspired by ecocentrism and biocentrism, it is because such notions eliminate the difference of identity and worth between the human person and other living things. In the name of a supposedly egalitarian vision of the "dignity" of all living creatures, such notions end up abolishing the distinctiveness and superior role of human beings. They also open the way to a new pantheism tinged with neo-paganism, which would see the source of man's salvation in nature alone, understood in purely naturalistic terms."

That certainly does not comport with many of those reports does it? Most of them seem to have been written by people who had not read what the Pope had written. They simply tried to fit the fact of letter into their ready made, simplistic template. In so doing they did not report news at all. Those who then used the Reuters report as the framework of their own stories passed on the errant report. The Late Pope Paul VI in his letter entitled “On the Progress of the People” opined that “the world is in trouble because of the lack of thinking”. That is certainly true in the news business these days.

In this brilliant letter, the Pope repeated many of the themes which he developed so well in his Encyclical Letter entitled “Charity in Truth”. Those themes are a part of the body of Catholic Social teaching. They were an integral part of the teaching of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II. They are found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and of course, they have their roots in the Bible. They are not new at all.

The Pope called for “integral human development” which recognizes the centrality of the human person and the primacy of our relationships with one another in family and society. He underscored the truth that creation is a gift, given to human persons by a God of love who entrusts us with responsibility for one another - and therefore for the goods which promote our human flourishing. We all have a responsibility for one another. We need to live together as goods stewards of creation, recognizing the need for a “human ecology”.

Here is another excerpt:

“The Church has a responsibility towards creation, and she considers it her duty to exercise that responsibility in public life, in order to protect earth, water and air as gifts of God the Creator meant for everyone, and above all to save mankind from the danger of self-destruction. The degradation of nature is closely linked to the cultural models shaping human coexistence: consequently, "when ‘human ecology' is respected within society, environmental ecology also benefits". Young people cannot be asked to respect the environment if they are not helped, within families and society as a whole, to respect themselves. The book of nature is one and indivisible; it includes not only the environment but also individual, family and social ethics. Our duties towards the environment flow from our duties towards the person, considered both individually and in relation to others.
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See also:

Pope Does Not Belong to Church of Al Gore

'Grave Misgivings' about Environmentalism

Popes Entire Letter on Human Ecology

posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 3:01 PM