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way of proceeding in the Society. It encouraged ever more effective ecological solidarity in our lives: spiritual, communal and apostolic. The reflections showed that some do live with this ―brokenness‖, while most still have, in one part of the world or another, little shared awareness. 35] During GC 34 and the years preceding GC 35, social marginality and ecological disasters were experienced as closely interrelated. The immediacy of data and analyses on human suffering in natural disasters reached the heart in a disturbing way and with increasing frequency. The Millennium Development Goals were launched but systemic resistance restricted the hoped-for new paradigms of inclusive development, while negative links between conservation and social marginality were evident in some places. The effects of climate change became generally known and there was an increase in global policies demanding new responses. 36] A number of postulates were received during GC 35 concerning the environment, and there was an honest acknowledgement that we all shared the problem and had to act. To help members of the Congregation understand the issues involved, a number of factsheets summarizing critical environmental concepts and impacts were prepared. 37] The issue of ecology and the environment was selected at GC 35 as one of the important apostolic themes to be reflected upon by a working group and presented to the Congregation. Various ways in which the issue of ecology could be treated were discussed. The group that made the presentation to the Congregation proposed that, instead of having a separate decree on ecology, the theme could be treated as part of the decree on Mission,41 which was being prepared by a small working group, a suggestion that was accepted. As a result, Decree 3 on Our Mission incorporates the theme of ecology under the broader theme of ‗Reconciliation‘ in its three-fold dimension: reconciliation with God, with others and with creation. GC 35: a triptych of relationships 38] To the oft-asked question whether GC 35 says anything new regarding the relationship between ecology and our fundamental charism as defined by GC 34, the answer must clearly be ―Yes‖. There are two significant departures from the way the theme of ecology was treated before GC 35.
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