The Canadian Catholic bishops'
justice and peace commission is encouraging reflection and action on
recent church teaching on the environment.
"Having an overarching vision of God's purpose in creation and the
rightful place of human beings in creation allows us to see the
interconnectedness between different moral questions," said Bishop
Donald Bolen of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, a member of the commission.
That vision encompasses "serving the dignity of human life at all stages
and working toward the common good" and shows how justice implications
are intrinsically connected with protecting the environment, he said in
an interview.
"Our document may be critiqued because it doesn't address particular
policy questions in Canada about the environment," he said. "What we're
trying to offer is a kind of meta-reflection, and give the resources to
engage in that discussion."
But Bishop Bolen stressed the document, released April 8, is not calling
Catholics to "keep the discussion on the level of principles."
"We are encouraging our communities and our faithful to engage in
dialogue with governmental policies and giving them the principles from
which they should do that," he said. "It's not shying away from party
policy. It's a call to action.
"We're trying to encourage the laity in their exercise of responsibility in engaging discussion in the public square," he said.
Titled "Building a New Culture: Central Themes in Recent Church Teaching
on the Environment," the document illustrates each of eight themes with
relevant quotes from Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II and includes a
short reflection.
Contrary to some prevailing cultural environmentalist views that see
human as only one species among many, the document's first principle is:
"Human beings are creatures made in God's image." It quotes Pope
Benedict, who warned against the extremes of unbridled dominion over
nature on one hand or in the other "absolutizing the environment or by
considering it more important than the human person."
The second principle stresses creation's "intrinsic order" and natural
law that can be ascertained through reason. The third principle, "'Human
ecology' and its relationship to environmental ecology," quotes Pope
Benedict's encyclical "Caritas in Veritate," where he ties respect for
the "human ecology" of the marriage, the family and protection of life
at all stages with protection of creation.
"It's important that the document addressing principles in approaching
the environment ties in with those life issues, the family and caring
about structural forms of poverty and concerns about an environmental
crisis all within a framework of cultural renewal," Bishop Bolen said.
Other principles include responsible stewardship; care for the environment is a moral issue; and solidarity.
"Since environmental degradation is often related to poverty, solidary
demands that structural forms of poverty be addressed," the bishops said
in the document. Solidarity also means care for future generations as
well as for the poor, they wrote.
The last two principles are: creation and spirituality; and responses to current environmental problems.
"The church does not propose or evaluate specific technical solutions to
our current environmental problems," the bishops said. "Rather, her
task is to remind people of the relationship between creation, human
beings, and the Creator."
However, the bishops stress the "urgent need for action," the need for
policies that protect the common good and international cooperation.
Bishop Bolen said there is "a rich resource in papal teaching which is
not terribly well-known here," the bishops thought could guide
reflection on how the people of God can engage questions of the
environment.
The church's "moral vision is a large one" and not single-issue
oriented, he said. Even if little groups within the church are working
on one particular issue or another, such as pro-life matters or on the
environment, "because we can't work on everything at the same time," as a
church "our voice needs to be addressing these interrelations," Bishop
Bolen said.