A vibrant and heartfelt
appeal to States to abandon the use of nuclear energy: this is the
message sent by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the Japanese
people to express the solidarity of the Orthodox world.
The
message was sent on the first Sunday of Lent, also called the Sunday of
Orthodoxy, on the anniversary of the restoration of the veneration of
icons, which occurred in 843, as an expression of respect towards the
people they represent.
"With a heart heavy with pain - Bartholomew starts - all
humanity is witnessing the tragedy that has struck the land of Japan,
causing the death of many of our brothers and sisters. Prayers are being lifted from all corners of the earth as a sign of solidarity with our Japanese brethren".
The disaster caused by the terrible earthquake and
tsunami – the message continues - has been worsened by the nightmare of
radioactive contamination due to the explosion of the nuclear power
plant in Fukushima.
"With regard to the
terrible earthquake-related disaster, human reason can do nothing,
because the causes are outside its scope," writes Bartholomew.
"On the contrary - he adds - there is a reason for the explosion at the nuclear reactor. And
with all due respect for the human face of scientific knowledge of its
potential use for the production of nuclear energy to meet the needs of
humanity, thus threatening its survival, we dare to propose the use of
scientific knowledge for the production of alternative
energy sources, the so-called 'green' energy, that isfriendly to the
environment and thus for humanity. "
Bartholomew points out that "our Creator has given us the
sun, wind, waves, from which energy can be extracted for our needs. An
ecological science has the ability to invent tools for the production of
renewable energy that is not harmful. Why, then, spread the use of energy production that is so dangerous to the integrity of the human race? Is it not an insult and a provocation of nature, which in turn then turns her back on human beings? ".
"From
this our humble home, along with our prayers for the sorely tried
people of the Land of the Rising Sun, we take the opportunity to make an
appeal to States to reconsider their policy on nuclear energy" says
Bartholomew I.
In short a brave and provocative message, and a decided
position, in line with the ecological battle undertaken by the
patriarchate of Constantinople since 1989, which with its various
initiatives is at the forefront in the Christian world for ecological
conception of creation.