[This essay posted in 2020 is available on the Internet at https://www.agustinosrecoletos.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/10/10-cry-of-the-earth-cry-of-the-poor.pdf.]
Introduction
“You discover the earth’s springing energy, its amazing beauty, its most excellent potency… To praise your Creator you make the earth’s cry your own.”1 St. Augustine proposed a Creator-to-creature realization of the beauty of creation, towards an owning of discovering the beauty of the earth. We discover God in the beauty of the earth.
Our faith beginnings offer us a clear explanation of the immense beauty of life as a gift completely shared by our Creator. "The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it." (Gen 2:15) This life is shared from the Creator to his creation.
“This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life."2 Pope Francis introduces his encyclical 1 St. Augustine, en. Ps. 144, 13.
2 Pope Francis, The Encyclical on the Environment on Care for Our Common Home
Laudato Si’, (May 24, 2015), ¶ 2 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2015). In the year 2015, Pope Francis published his first social encyclical, entitled, Laudato Si’: On the Care of Our Common Home, a definitive document highlighting the ecological damages impacting nature, people
letter, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home with this reflective assessment; making us realize once again the obligation to take care of
God's Creation, to hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
The people and the earth have suffered enough destructions from catastrophic natural disasters, climate change realities, human cost of climate-related tragedies, enormous pollution and waste problems, and over-development.
Pope Francis echoes the statement of Patriarch Bartholomew,
For human beings… to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation; for human beings to degrade the integrity of the earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the earth of its natural forests or destroying its wetlands; for human beings to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life these are sins; for to commit a crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin against God.3
The following are key learning lines why we should Care for Creation: (a) We are created by God, and exist together with all other creatures, (b) We have destroyed creation; failing to care the gift of creation, the earth now cries for the destruction, and the poor continues to suffer more and more because of our selfishness; (c) We need to change our framework of development from profit-over-people to people-over-profit (environment-over-profit); most importantly our life witnessing; and (d) We have to restore creation, renew our commitment to protect our planet; for this, a conversion of every individual and of groups and institutions at every level, from local communities to global humanity is much needed.
The Earth and the Poor
The Earth, Our Common Home
We need to have a more transformative reading with regard to the biblical context of Creation in the book of Genesis. Our life originates in God's breath of life, the all-loving intention of our Creator is fullness of life. A life he shared, a life he fully lived, and a life he cannot take away from us. The original Blessing is way of putting emphasis on the immense gift of the creator.
and society; and as well, imploring integral ecology as a way of responding to social crisis.
To be cited in the following notes as LS.
3 LS,¶ 8.
The articulation of the cry of the earth, cry of the poor is rooted in integrating the concerns affecting our environment with the sufferings of the poor. “I will point to the intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet, the conviction that everything in the world is connected,”4 said Pope Francis in the introductory paragraphs of Laudato Si’.
Our oikos (home) is the Earth. This home is also the home of the Godhead, "God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation" (Gen 2:3). And so, the life created on earth, is a life envisioned by God to make all living creatures live in harmony with each other.
Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ provides the other lens for a community of creation, not putting man in the pedestal of the cycle of life, but rather living in communion with other creatures, saying: “we Christians have at times incorrectly interpreted the Scriptures, nowadays we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures”5. But highlighting the value of other living beings, “we are called to recognize that other living beings have a value of their own in God’s eyes”6.
Departing from the classical gradation of beings (man in the highest order, as espoused by many Fathers of the Church, and theologians), “In our time the Church does not simply state that other creatures are completely subordinate to the good of human beings, as if they had no worth in themselves and can be treated as we wish”7. “They have an intrinsic value independent of their usefulness”8. It is for the reason that it is counter to the existence of God to put no value on his creation. “Even the fleeting life of the least of beings is the object of God’s love, and in its few seconds of existence, God enfolds it with affection”9.
The Contemporary Ecological Spirituality and Theology
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) developed the early systematic ecological spirituality in many of his writings. “Teilhard’s comprehensive vision of the earth and its interconnected life processes evolving over time is a well spring of hope for the critical work ahead to create a sustainable future.”10 He posited a reading of spirituality from the evolutionary process. Many ecotheologians credit his influence, specially of providing a scientific interpretation, or a cosmic perspective of seeing nature, a transcendent life in matter in nature. In his work, entitled Human Energy he said “... The cosmic sense must have been born as soon as man found himself facing the forest, the sea and the stars. And since then we find evidence of it in all our experience of the great and unbounded: in art, in poetry, in religion. Through it we react to the world as a whole as with our eyes to the light.”11
There was also Thomas Berry, who did a pioneering work on ecotheology, and always bringing into his works the ideas of Teilhard de Chardin. A leading historian of culture and religion, he sought a broader perspective on humanity’s relationship to the earth in order to respond to the ecological and social challenges of our times.12 He presented the New Story on
creation, departing from the biblical direction, but integrating both scientific and mystical interpretation of the biblical story of creation:
If the dynamics of the universe from the beginning shaped the course of the heavens, lighted the sun and formed the Earth, if this same dynamism brought forth the continents and seas and atmosphere, if it awakened life in the primordial cell and then brought into being the unnumbered variety of living beings, and finally brought us into being and guided us safely through the turbulent centuries, there is reason to believe that this same guiding process is precisely what has awakened in us our present understanding of ourselves and our relation to this stupendous process. Sensitized to such guidance from the very structure and functioning of the universe, we can have confidence in the future that awaits the human venture.13
The succeeding works of Thomas Berry provided the pathway for ecological theology to flourish especially in the United States. “The most difficult transition to make is from an anthropocentric to a biocentric norm of progress. If there is to be any true progress, then the entire life community must progress. Any progress of the human at the expense of the larger life community must ultimately lead to a diminishment of human life itself.”14 The followers of Thomas Berry and Matthew Fox in the creation spirituality movement, among them Brian Swimme and James Conlon; bringing the awareness the immense understanding of the beauty of creation and God’s presence in the created world15
Dissecting this theme, one necessitates to provide parallel analysis between the current ecological damage and the situation of poverty. Leonardo Boff, known for his dedication to liberation theology brings to the fore of the theological discourse on how ecological destruction had affected and disenfranchised the lives of the indigenous communities. He formally presented the concept “cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” in his seminal
work entiled, Ecologia: Grito de la Tierra, Grito de los Pobres16, likewise he calls both as “interconnected cries”17; seeing the root causes constituting the oppressive nature done on both. The work of Boff provided analysis of data and situations vis-à-vis theological deepening related to social perspectives of the ecological crisis.
The Lutheran tradition provided vital analysis on the ecological discussion, incorporating the following themes: a) doctrine of the two kingdoms of God b) the rejection of natural theology. Jürgen Moltmann contributed to the ecological discussion on the immanence of God in creation, a critique on the overemphasis of the divine transcendence, emphasizing that it erases God’s connection with the world. “Through the monotheism of the absolute subject, God was increasingly stripped of his connection with the world, and the world was increasingly secularized.”18 Douglas John Hall provided an interpretation of the theology of stewardship as a way of deepening the understanding of the oikos, that we are responsible for the whole earth. He developed the following dimensions of stewardship: a) theological dimension – stewardship from God. The Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; b)Christological dimension –Jesus fulfills the office of steward, redefined as servant. Our stewardship is not only exemplified by Jesus; it is the prior stewardship of Christ into which we are initiated by the Spirit and through faith. A theology of stewardship is one of grace, not only of law; c) ecclesiastical dimension –the church is a stewarding community, the steward community exists to serve the needs of the world; d) anthropological dimension – not only Christians but all human beings have stewardship as their vocation. In this way a “new humanity” (Col 3:10) may emerge; e) eschatological dimension – the life of a steward is one of being conscious of the coming end. Watchfulness of the steward (Luke 12), trustworthiness (1 Cor 4:2) and
without blame (Titus 1:7). The impending judgment will begin with the household of God (1 Pet 4:7).19
H. Paul Santmire tries to connect the systemic interrelationships between God, humanity, and the natural world, he says "the human spirit's rootedness in the world of nature and on the desire of self-consciously embodied selves to celebrate God's presence in, with, and under the whole biophysical order.”20
“God declared everything to be good, indeed, very good. He created nothing unnecessarily and has omitted nothing that is necessary. Thus, even in the mutual opposition of the various elements of the universe, there exists a divinely willed harmony because creatures have received their mode of existence by the will of their Creator, whose purpose is that through their interdependence they should bring to perfection the beauty of the universe. It is the very nature of things considered in itself, without regard to man's convenience or inconvenience, that gives glory to the Creator.”21
Responding to the Cry of the Earth
The cry of the earth illustrates the alarming situation of the planet caused by pollution, climate change, depletion of our natural resources, systemic mining, logging, loss of biodiversity. The cry of the Earth cannot and must not cover the cry of the poor, but rather amplify it…22
God protects nature. “God, who refrains from perishing even what seems to be mutually destructive. God, who from nothing, has created this world, which the eyes of all perceive as the most beautiful. God, who does not cause evil, but causes it not to be the worst. God, who to the few who flee for refuge to what really is, shows that evil is nothing. God, through whom the universe, even taking in its
sinister side, is perfect. God, of whom the things that disagree most widely with You have no dissonant effect, since the worst things are included in a plan with better. God, that you are loved, consciously or unconsciously, by all that you are capable of loving. God, in whom all things are, to whom, nevertheless, neither the vileness of any creature is vile, nor his wickedness is harmful, nor his error is wrong.” ( St. Augustine, sol. 1, 2)
Columban eco-theologian Sean McDonagh says: “People of faith need to become advocates for policies which protect other species and they also need to act to stem the tide of extinction”. He encourages liturgies that will “encourage people of faith to take the destruction of biodiversity much more seriously”23, currently promoting the celebration of the Season of Creation, an ecology way to integrate a ‘new’ liturgical season in church’s liturgy, and was officially adapted by the Vatican in 2019.
The destruction of nature includes the damaged of its dignity and our role to bring healing to the Earth,24 Leonardo Boff provided a deeper reflection on reclaiming and healing the Earth: “…the sacred brings us back from our exile and awakens us from our alienation. It brings us back to the home that we had left, and we begin to treat Earth, each thing in it, and the whole universe, as we treat our body, each of our organs, every emotion of our soul, and each thought of our mind. Only a personal relationship with Earth makes us love it. We do not exploit but respect and reverence the one we love. A new era may now begin, not one of truce but of peace and true connectedness.”25
Reflection Guide: Fomenting a communitarian discernment of our role to protect creation: articles/avvenire-editorial/15682-the-cry-from-the-earth-and-the-poor-asks-for-dreamsand-new-prophecies.html
1. In the perspective of faith, all that God has created is good and beautiful, St. Augustine clearly pointed this out: “Each single created thing is good, and taken as a whole they are very good, because together they constitute a universe of admirable beauty.”26
2. In the encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis emphasized cooperation as a means of solidarity, exhorting to be part of God’s creative process, “all of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.”27 (Pope Francis, LS 14)
3. Common Discernment: Celebration of the Season of Creation
4. Pastoral Response
1. Integrating ‘Care for Creation’ topic/discussion in our formation activities, with Laudato Si’ as a key document guide.
2. Organizing local environmental leadership teams.
3. Participating in local activities for the promotion of environmental justice and other ecological concerns.
The Cry of the Poor
The human face of the ecological crisis is the poor. They are facing ecological disasters in recent years, they are suffering from the heavy impacts of climate disruption. “The relationship to ecology is direct, for the poor and the oppressed belong to nature and their situation is objectively an ecological aggression.”28
As the world gets entangled with health crisis as a corollary impact made by industrial pollution, the livability of the planet often is compromised due to alarming air quality affecting humanity, Greenpeace in recent years released a campaign module detailing a research on coal pollution; respiratory diseases are always associated with pollution impacting not only human health but also the planet. More communities
are affected by industrial pollution, and their health are affected. Sadly, industries are callous enough not to be affected by the complaints and even court cases filed against their environmental violations.
Scripture constantly speaks of God acting on behalf of the poor. He is the one who “hears” their cry” and “comes to their aid”; he “protects” and “defends” them; he “rescues” and “saves” them… Indeed, the poor will never find God indifferent or silent in the face of their plea. God is the one who renders justice and does not forget (cf. Ps 40:18; 70:6); he is their refuge and he never fails to come to their assistance (cf. Ps 10:14).29
The identity of the poor is reflected in the theological life of the Church as presented by liberation theology and other theo-pastoral directions, “never in the history of Christian theologies have the poor become so central. To seek to build an entire theology starting from the perspective of the victims and so to denounce the mechanisms that have made them victims and to help overcome those mechanisms by drawing on the spiritual storehouse of Christianity, thereby collectively forging a society that offers greater opportunity for life, justice, and participation: this is the unique intuition of liberation theology.”30 The poor as active agents of social transformation, not an object of development. Allowing the poor to participate in political life, and even transforming them to become leaders of the society. As early as in the 1960’s, there were already church leaders, pastors and religious criticizing development models introduced by international organizations and government-to-government aid institutions; that social inclusion is rather more important than just dole-outs.
Cry of the poor implicates as an impact of social injustice and in many cases, of environmental degradation. “As is always the case, the poor
and vulnerable are the first to suffer and the worst hit.”31
Today, a growing awareness among indigenous communities calling for more protection of their ancestral land and rights, concludingly protects forests from mining, logging, massive agricultural expansion and other development-related aggression. Poverty is connected with environmental degradation. The correlation has been presented by many of the organizations involved in the protection of the environment. The existing connection between poverty rate and the extent of the destruction of the forests for commercial ends are clearly matched. Structural corruption does not respect existing environmental regulations. Globally, we have created laws, protecting biodiversity and even clearly stipulations regulations; yet all these are shelved by corrupt government systems; deliberately favoring big polluters and capitalist driven business.
Responding to the Cry of the Poor
The Church, and communities of faith need to respond with deliberate framework; Pope Francis clearly spoke of the need of a poor Church, sharing not only in solidarity, but the poor evangelizing the Church.32 In his message during the celebration of the Third World Day of the Poor, he said: “In closeness to the poor, the Church comes to realize that she is one people, spread throughout many nations and called to ensure that no one feels a stranger or outcast, for she includes everyone in a shared journey of salvation. The situation of the poor obliges us not to keep our distance from the body of the Lord, who suffers in them. Instead, we are called to touch his flesh and to be personally committed in offering a service that is an authentic form of evangelization. Commitment to the promotion of the poor, including their social promotion, is not foreign to the proclamation of the Gospel. On the contrary, it
manifests the realism of Christian faith and its historical validity.”33
The world only offers reliever remedies for poverty. And in fact, the global poverty index has risen incrementally in the last decade, across 101 countries, 1.3 billion people 23.1 percent are multidimensionally poor.34
Reflection Guide:
Initiating a communitarian response on poverty situations in our areas:
a. St. Augustine speaks of common ownership of goods as a necessity for sharing. "God does not demand much of you. He asks back what he gave you, and from him you take what is enough for you. The excess goods of the rich people are the necessities of the poor people. When you possess more than you need, you possess what belongs to others.”
(Augustine, Exposition on Psalm 147:12)
b. Pope Francis, exhorts the Church, that as faith communities we have to address the roots of poverty as well as encouraging direct action to facilitate integral response. “In this context, we can understand Jesus' command to his disciples: "You yourselves give them something to eat!" (Mk 6:37): it means working to eliminate the structural causes of poverty and to promote the integral development of the poor, as well as small daily acts of solidarity in meeting the real needs which we encounter.”35
c. Common Discernment: Celebration of the Year of the Poor, theme for the year 2020: “Stretch forth your hand to the poor” – summons us to responsibility and commitment as men and women who are part of our one human family. It encourages us to bear the burdens of the weakest, in accord with the words of Saint Paul: “Through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself’… Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal 5:13-14; 6:2). The Apostle teaches that the freedom bestowed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ makes us individually responsible for serving others, especially the weakest. This is not an option, but rather a sign of the authenticity of the faith we profess.36
d. Pastoral Response
1) Finding a better place to initiate a participatory development on addressing poverty.
2) Fomenting dialogue with the leaders of poor communities as a way to listen and discern common action.
3) Allowing the members of our community to participate
Connecting the dots between Environmental and Social Problems
The alarming call of climate emergency is disturbing the established political ‘order,’ it can even isolate governments and even pave a way for a new regime change for other countries. The environmental problems affected the lives of the people, the realization that communities has become the victim of every damage done to the environment; governments cannot just dismiss the cry of the victims. The poorest people will continue to experience climate change through the loss of income and livelihood opportunities, hunger, adverse health effects and displacement.37 Sadly, this epoch is seeing both the reverberation of ecological voices and the reality of more environmental damages being done across continents.
“Historically, people have been forced to flee their homes due to civil wars, political instability, poverty and hunger, but the growing number of extreme weather events linked to climate change are now increasingly contributing to migration.”38 Pope Francis identified the interconnectivity
of all these, he calls it “integral ecology”39; “integral ecology”; that the problem is not just ecological, with potentially catastrophic impacts cascading through financial, ecological and social systems40. “As climate change intensifies, we will find it harder to feed ourselves. Extinction rates will spike as vital habitats decline. More and more people will be forced to migrate from their homes as the land they depend on becomes less able to support them. This is already leading to many local conflicts over dwindling resources.”41 Failure to address these, leads to a profound destruction of people and planet.
Yes, there is a connection between ‘climate emergency’ with other social struggles. The destruction of communities paving the way for pipeline projects; the continuing destruction of forests in the Amazon region and in countries like Indonesia are affecting the lives of indigenous peoples and the whole of the ecosystem; the enormous deaths caused by stronger typhoons in the island communities all these impacts create economic disturbances on the affected families and communities, and we have seen that all these lead to displacement (social and economic in nature). “Climate change affects people inside their own strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Pé an, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J.B.R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M.I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, and T. Waterfield (eds.)]. In Press. p. 479. [hereinafter IPCC].
countries, and typically creates internal displacement before it reaches a level where it displaces people across borders.”42 Pope Francis recently issued a call for young economists and entrepreneurs worldwide to gather, reflect and be able to re-animate our economic system affecting our common home and our people on March 26-28, 2020, in a conference called the “Economy of Francesco;” he said in
his message: “everything is deeply connected and that the safeguarding of the environment cannot be divorced from ensuring justice for the poor and finding answers to the structural problems of the global economy. We need to correct models of growth incapable of guaranteeing respect for the environment, openness to life, concern for the family, social equality, the dignity of workers and the rights of future generations. Sadly, few have heard the appeal to acknowledge the gravity of the problems and, even more, to set in place a new economic model, the fruit of a culture of communion based on fraternity and equality.”43 Most of our current environmental problems are the results of the actions and inactions of our government leaders, often justifying the many destruction with economic and development-driven reasons, truly a wrong reading of sustainable development. As underlined by the 2018 IPCC report that in addressing the climate change impacts, we need to “allow people to live a life in dignity while avoiding actions that undermine capabilities; transform economies; overcome uneven consumption and production patterns and conceptualize development as well-being rather than mere economic growth…”44
Re-framing contemporary global strategies
In 2015, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was able to craft the Paris Agreement, a non-binding and yet definitive ‘guideline’ for countries to address and step-up climate action. And yet, we are seeing the commitments of countries only on the level of a more weaker commitments, of speaking only from the economic perspective of climate change. Even at the start of the climate negotiations and thereafter we have seen how the negotiators sidelined the equity and climate justice approaches; leaving the accountability of big nations that contributed so much the CO2 in our atmosphere; and letting the developing countries pay the price45. Naomi Klein, foremost Canadian activist, sounded the alarm of the need of a ‘post-Paris plan’; she was right, year after year of the Paris Agreement, we are seeing more people suffering
from the climate impacts without due attention, she said “Today, I feel the same way about the urgency of climate action as I did yesterday: The threat is so grave that it is immoral to waste even a moment pondering our chances of success. So long as there is any chance of keeping temperatures below truly catastrophic levels, we have an unbreakable responsibility to do everything in our power to increase those chance.”46
The UNFCCC should re-frame the whole nature of any ‘future’ agreements: making it legally binding (making signatories legally accountable); clearly specifying climate financing, improving the liability provision of the loss and damage; overhauling the systemic capitalist attitude related to economic, political and development models; and infusing consistent declaration of climate emergency. Most importantly, we must avoid in future conference of parties (COP), the element of resignation that any agreement was better than no agreement at all, this is the defeating attitude of developing countries, and the succeeding COP after the Paris Agreement repeated the same mistake. Many people expected that the Paris Agreement would bring productive development of a fossil-free future, and yet the Paris Agreement does not address fundamental problems with the global capitalist economic system and how it continues to foster reliance on fossil fuel to drive economic growth in the short to medium term47.
The deadlines, the rule book, and the targets need to be translated into the realities of climate-related experiences. The attempt to incorporate the Talanoa Dialogue48 framework is in itself beneficial to the COP, but it shall never remain in the appendix, the challenged communities have a lot to contribute in the negotiations, more than just the ingredients and exhibits being done in every COP meeting. The outcomes of the conferences should be something that move
countries to targeted actions, not just programs. The implementing mechanisms must cascade into the affected communities, most often only being accessed by government institutions, academic entities and non-government organizations (NGOs); only to discover that the responsible agencies have become fundingdriven.
The Augustinian Ecological Care and Reflection
a) Trinitarian Revelation in Creation – St. Augustine wrote: “The whole Trinity is revealed to us in the creation.”49 In the divine image God created us, body and soul; so all the whole of creation the manifestation of the whole goodness of the Creator. The Creator introduces life in all of us, enriching us with the incarnation of Jesus, revealing in him God’s identification in all of his creation. “One Person of the Trinity entered into the created cosmos, throwing in his lot with it, even to the cross. From the beginning of the world, but particularly through the incarnation, the mystery of Christ is at work in a hidden manner in the natural world as a whole, without thereby impinging on its autonomy.”50 The revelation of the Creator in the likeness of nature and humanity, is a mode of reality, where God’s image is revealed in nature and in those who suffer from environmental destruction.
Reflection: Pope Francis, “As imago Dei, in God’s image, we are called to have care and respect for all creatures, and to offer love and compassion to our brothers and sisters, especially the most vulnerable among us, in imitation of God’s love for us, manifested in his Son Jesus, who became man in order to share our state with us and save us.”51
b) Creation as reflection of God’s character52 - God’s character is perfection, beauty and order. The annihilation of what God has made
is counter to his image. St. Augustine said: “You, Lord, did these things; You who are beautiful, because they are beautiful; You who are good, because they are good; You who are, because they are. Not even if they are beautiful, nor good, nor are they, as You are their creative art; compared to those who are not beautiful, or good, or anything at all. These things that we know, thanks to You.”53 We have seen today the continuing destruction of nature and the lives of communities in them; the way of God is care. We have destroyed much of what God has created.
Reflection and Action:
• Pope Francis: “We have failed to care for the earth, our garden-home; we have failed to care for our brothers and sisters. We have sinned against the earth, against our neighbours, and ultimately against the Creator, the benevolent Father who provides for everyone, and desires us to live in communion and flourish together.”54
• What is the amount of trash in our homes, in our locality?
• Are you computing our daily ‘personal trash’?
• The global amount of waste is reaching: “The world generates 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, with at least 33 percent of that extremely conservatively not managed in an environmentally safe manner. Worldwide, waste generated per person per day averages 0.74 kilogram but ranges widely, from 0.11 to 4.54 kilograms. Though they only account for 16 percent of the world’s population, high-income countries generate about 34 percent, or 683 million tonnes, of the world’s waste… Global
waste is expected to grow to 3.40 billion tonnes by 2050.”55
• Why continue using plastic bottles that accumulate and pollute our oceans, affecting ocean life?
Contributing to the waste crisis or the throwaway culture.
• Have we spoken in behalf the destruction?
c) Creation as inherently valuable.56 It is counter to the creative nature of the Creator, if we, as part of the whole of creation continue to destroy what he has made, without considerations of the future generation. Our stewardship is for us to sustain what God has made; not to destroy the natural resources, the lands and mountains from mining, the trees and forests, the biodiversity, the coral reefs and endangered species all that is in them. The ecological damages brought about by development aggression is opposite to the nature of God.
Reflection and Action:
• Life on land and below water are elements of our existence, have we relate our communitarian existence with nature’s existence?
• has life improved in mining communities?
• can we allow polluting industries to continue operating in our locality affecting the health of our people?
d) Creation fulfills the needs of humans instrumentally, but it also points toward the greater glory of the Creator. A livable planet is what we all deserved. We have witnessed the over-consumption of our resources, up to the point of depleting one nation to another.
What is livable for God’s creation, is also livable for our faith, for our people and for a healthy environment. Today, we witnessed poverty and its cost to our human environment; as we address environmental degradation and care for the planet we almost must combat poverty. “The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation.”57 Here too, lies authentic social concern for others; that it is not only face-lifting, it is indeed, integral. That the we journey towards a healthy future, it also is embracing social justice, that the glory of the Creator rests in our care for the planet and of the poor. Indeed, Creation is good because it obtains its goodness from the Creator.58
Reflection and Action:
• Let us connect our reflection of life with acts for creation.
• Let us celebrate and participate the Day of Creation, in liturgy and collective action. September 1 (Day of Prayer for Creation) until October 4 (the Feast Day of Si’) uniting with faith communities to pray and care for creation.
e) Interrelatedness59 - This concept of St. Augustine’s mediated interrelatedness allows us to see the interconnectedness of everything, can be a tool to address the current ecological concerns, Pope Francis speaks of ‘interconnectedness’ in Laudato Si’, he said: “everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to
resolving the problems of society.”60 St. Augustine’s theology as a source for environmental ethics by showing the relationship of the Godhead to creation through the incarnate Son of God and the economic relationships within the Trinity. There is a mediated interrelatedness that provides an analogy that can be appropriated to address modern ecological concerns. Likewise, the global connectedness affecting all of us in the planet; the unending destruction of the Amazon, the ‘lungs’ of our fragile planet will entirely affect the planet.
Reflection and Action:
• The call for global solidarity affecting nature and communities is a priority.
• The impacts of climate change affect us all, In 2018, thru the IPCC report, the world’s leading climate scientists have warned us that we only have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe keeping the 1.5°C to a maximum. The grim warning says that the “1.5°Cconsistent pathways would require robust, stringent and urgent transformative policy interventions targeting the decarbonization of energy supply, electrification, fuel switching, energy efficiency, land-use change, and lifestyles...”61
• “1.3 billion people live in multidimensional poverty in the 105 developing countries, hey are deprived in at least onethird of overlap- ping deprivations in health, education, and living standards, lacking such things as clean water, sanitation, adequate nutrition, or primary education; two-
thirds of all multidimensionally poor people live in middleincome countries., 889 million people in middle-income countries experience deprivations in nutrition, schooling, and sanitation, just like those in low-income countries…”62
• Realities affecting us: Our experiences of water crisis, extreme weather events, and catastrophic climaterelated disasters.
f) Created Order63 – Creation is treasured, and protected but not worshiped64, the inherent and instrumental value of creation, not to be interpreted as abuse and domination. Creating a space for the negation of the anthropogenic tendencies of thinking and theological framework, providing the core messaging that the center of creation is not solely the humanity itself, but rather of humanity’s place in creation - through deeper intuition of the cries of creation. It is not only humanity who solely suffers but all of creation in the ecological destruction.
Reflection:
• Do I recognize God as the Creator, and Giver of allLife?
• Do I thank God of our co-existence with nature?
g) Common Good - Care for the common good essentially defines the totality of our purpose to act as stewards for a better social commitment, committing to a stewardship rooted in our love for God and people, creation is the result of God’s love, pouring «out of the largeness of His bounty» (abundantiam beneficentiae)65 “Since
human beings are part of the ecosystems which facilitate the relationships that give life to our planet, caring for them – given that everything is interconnected – is fundamental to promoting the dignity of each individual, the common good of society, social progress, and care for the environment.”66
Reflection:
• Am I sensitive to the needs of the poor communities and to human suffering?
• Are we willing to commit to protect nature from destruction?
Contemporary Responses and Emerging Issues Declaration of Climate Emergency
“The cry of the earth and the cry of the poor cannot continue.”67 This latest pronouncement of Pope Francis is a call to action. It is the desire of governments and institutions to take action and be able to sustainably solve the environmental divergence, there is a need to address this climate emergency with urgency:
First, the need to embrace the emergency mode, we have to end the climate change romanticism. Or else, the extreme climate events remain in the news, severity and proximity of the consequences are happening68. The warnings are real, just recently the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services released a global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem, underlining in one of its key messages: “Human actions threaten more species with global extinction now than ever before…suggesting that around 1 million species already face extinction, many within decades, unless action is taken to reduce the intensity of drivers of biodiversity loss. Without such action there will be a further acceleration in the global rate of species extinction, which is
already at least tens to hundreds of times higher than it has averaged over the past 10 million years.”69 The declaration of climate emergency started as a peopledriven initiative, they have seen and experienced the impacts directly, with the use of scientific and real data, they are mobilizing unprecedented direct-campaigns against corporate power and passive governments. Undeniably governments must address drivers of climate divergence in emergency mode, “the direct drivers of change in nature with the largest global impact have been (starting with those with most impact): changes in land and sea use; direct exploitation of organisms; climate change; pollution; and invasion of alien species” accelerating during the past 50 years 70. The declaration must be forceful and decisive, government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change71. This demands consistent ecological framework among governments. This was clearly articulated by Greta Thunberg, she tweeted: “It’s 2019. Can we all now please stop saying ‘climate change’ and instead call it what it is: climate breakdown, climate crisis, climate emergency, ecological breakdown, ecological crisis and ecological emergency?”72
Secondly, the need to strategize the speed of response, climate emergency demands swift and strategic response. In 2018, thru the IPCC report, the world’s leading climate scientists have warned us that we only have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe keeping the 1.5°C to a maximum. The grim warning says that the “1.5°C-consistent pathways would require robust, stringent and urgent transformative policy interventions targeting the de-carbonization of energy supply, electrification, fuel switching, energy efficiency, land-use change, and lifestyles...”73
If time was not important before, the current climate emergency situation underlines the necessity of speedy and timely response. “Specific actions include
promoting sustainable agricultural practices, such as good agricultural and agroecological practices, among others, multifunctional landscape planning and cross-sectoral integrated management, that support the conservation of genetic diversity and associated agricultural biodiversity. Further actions to simultaneously achieve food security, biodiversity protection and sustainable use are context-appropriate climate change mitigation and adaptation, incorporating knowledge from various systems, including the sciences and sustainable indigenous and local practices, avoiding food waste, empowering producers and consumers to transform supply chains and facilitating sustainable and healthy
PLATFORM ON BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, Advance
Unedited Version, May 6, 2019, p. 3.
dietary choices. As part of integrated landscape planning and management, prompt ecological restoration emphasizing the use of native species can offset current degradation and save many endangered species but is less effective if delayed.”74
Thirdly, the need to have clarity of targets; targets for a fossil-free future, targets for biodiversity protection, targets for a sustainable future all warrant sustained efforts without compromise. The realistic targets are important, declaring climate emergency is seeing and experiencing the impacts. Without hesitation, companies, institutions and governments must act, accordingly “corporations must acknowledge the earth’s finite resources and respect our shared common goods. Companies must account for all externalities, measure their footprints on the planet, and restore harmony to the environment for future generations…”75
Pope Francis just recently met the executives, investors and experts on energy, in a meeting entitled: The Energy Transition and the Care of Our Common Home; he simply presented a clear message to them: “Today’s
ecological crisis, especially climate change, threatens the very future of the human family. This is no exaggeration. For too long we have collectively failed to listen to the fruits of scientific analysis and <<doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain>>. Any discussion of climate change and the energy transition must be rooted, then, in <<the results of the best scientific research available today, letting them touch us deeply>>... Faced with a climate emergency, we must take action accordingly, in order to avoid perpetrating a brutal act of injustice towards the poor and future generations.“76 In this era the world is experiencing the brutality of the climate impacts.
Discerning the Causes of the Ecological Emergency
The role of religion as a moral conscience should be guided by a good reading of current realities, aware that any approach to address issues affecting the life of believers, in this case, the environment and its impact to people and nature; will enrich the integral living of the faith. These are the identified marks of the causes of climate emergency:
Lack of the sense for the common good. Nature or the environment is a common good, so are the natural resources. Common good, does not mean ownership nor having the right/s to abuse the natural resources, but rather, having a responsibility to nurture and ensure sustainability. We have allowed the limitless ownership and destruction of our natural resources for political, business and development reasons. Sacrificing in the end, our common ownership. Persons, communities and nature incorporate the global society, the need to ensure climate and universal justice for them constitute a common concern. Care for our common home, as Pope Francis rightly calls in Laudati Si’.
Lack of the sense of social justice. Any government systems fail, if social
justice is not prioritized. Social justice takes the form of governance and the grounded vision it provides, and also it can take form of economy and the cycle it can bring, especially the poor. With the assurance of social justice, the level of the quality life becomes the gauge of integral development.
“Historically, people have been forced to flee their homes due to civil wars, political instability, poverty and hunger, but the growing number of extreme weather events linked to climate change are now increasingly contributing to migration.”77 In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis calls this “integral ecology”78; citing that the problem is not just ecological, but with also catastrophic impacts cascading through financial, political and social systems79. “As climate change intensifies, we will find it harder to feed ourselves. Extinction rates will spike as vital habitats decline. More and more people will be forced to migrate from their homes as the land they depend on becomes less able to support them. This is already leading to many local conflicts over dwindling resources.”80 Failure to address these, leads to a profound destruction of people and planet. Truly there is a connection between ‘climate emergency’ with other social struggles. The destruction of communities paving the way for pipeline projects; the continuing destruction of forests in the Amazon region and in countries like Indonesia are affecting the lives of indigenous peoples and the whole of the ecosystem; the enormous deaths caused by stronger typhoons in the island communities all these impacts create economic disturbances on the affected families and communities, and we have seen that all these lead to displacement. “Climate change affects people inside their own countries, and typically creates internal displacement before it reaches a level where it displaces people across borders.”81
Lack of the sense of the future. Sustainable future is a right of every human being. The immensity of the damages done to our environment
creates a clear sign of ‘no future’ for our people and planet. Our total disregard of the value of human life (from conception to opportunities of living) are clearly manifested; the amount of waste we are producing and dumping daily; the destruction and loss of our forests; the pollution of our atmosphere (including the oceans and rivers); and the elimination of human, plant and animal species all these reflect a bleak future for all of us. Sadly, governments allow companies and businesses to destroy our environment in the form of development aggression. “Sustainability is a precaution for the future; its motivating hope is not belief in everlasting progress, but the vision of a well-lead life within the limits of nature.”82 Lack of the sense of accountability. Imposing accountability structures thru policies will caution and ultimately discourage greed-driven enterprises. The effects of extractive industries are already measurable, and yet we still allow them to destroy our ridges and reefs. We have read news and stories of deaths and destruction in mining sites, areas affected by development aggression, the massive fires in the Amazon region and Indonesia and yet our governments still allow corporation to operate and continue destroying our forests.
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2018-09-10/secretary-generalsremarks-climate-change-delivered.
Connecting Health Emergency with Climate Crisis
“The pandemic of the coronavirus reveals to us that the way we live in the common house is harmful to its nature. The lesson that it conveys to us is: it is imperative to reform our way of living on it, as a living planet. She is warning us that we are just as we are behaving, we can't continue. Otherwise the Earth itself will get rid of us, overly aggressive and evil to the system of life.”83 The many scientific warnings has proven that the unstoppable destruction of biodiversity has impacted not only the climate but also the rise of ‘earth-
born’ diseases. This global pandemic of the coronavirus affects everyone, revealing directly on sight: (a)the fragility of our humanity, both our health and psychological well-being; (b)the fragility of our government systems;
(c) the fragility of our health systems.
We need better lenses to understand the current health crisis, as part of our journey to recovery, these are the essential points for reflection:
(a) our health is part of the creative process of life that needs to be protected.
(b) our environment is the revelation of Creation.
(c) our life ought to be meaningfully lived.
Protection and recovery of life is very important in the survival of life.
Protection of health encompasses protection of nature. Many of the deadly viruses were acquired (and related to) abuse of our wild/exotic animals.
Nature must not be human-centered, it is totally of life, of all living organisms. “For human beings… to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation; for human beings to degrade the integrity of the earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the earth of its natural forests or destroying its wetlands; for human beings to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life –these are sins.” (Pope Francis, LS, 8) In the perspective of faith, all that God has created is good and beautiful. “Each single created thing is good, and taken as a whole they are very good, because together they constitute a universe of admirable beauty.”84
Healing Our Earth
Our planet Earth takes a breather from the years of massive destruction. During the period of lockdown all over the globe, nature becomes poetic, in the words of a poet: “now the birds are chirping, flowers bloom; for the spring is rising, breaking nature’s gloom…” The social media
posts and news reports, acknowledged the end of daily pollution from cars and industries; the re-appearance of the displaced species both land and life below water. Wild animals are appearing in the urban areas, a report in the The Guardian online news said: “Animals have started taking advantage of cities as they enter lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. From New Delhi, India to Buenos Aires, Argentina, groups of animals including deer and lemurs have started to come out to explore – in search of food or just to play…”85
But the call for climate emergency remains, and Pope Francis issued a warning: “The earth does not forgive: if we have despoiled the earth, its response will be very ugly.”86 More than the appearance, is a conscience-space for us to ask ourselves: this outcome from what we have seen in nature resulting from the COVID crisis is an opportunity to effectively implement existing laws protecting nature from human-induced destruction driven by greed and insensitivity. Yes, we are able to re-create an ambiance nature-friendly for us, but not totally for nature. Simply because, during this lockdown, more wastes are still generated from our consumption, unending environmental destruction are being done on nature and communities, governments continue to approve and endorse mining permits and all other issues.
Integral Healing thru Solidarity
In his Earth Day message, Pope Francis said: “As the tragic coronavirus pandemic has taught us, we can overcome global challenges only by showing solidarity with one another and embracing the most vulnerable in our midst.”87 Commitment to Just Recovery. The impact of the COVID-19 crisis is incalculable at this moment, we are facing not only an economic crisis but also a global humanitarian crisis. Governments are pursuing economic recovery as the best tool to be able to address the aftermath of the pandemic,
seeing the many political pendulum-movement of opinions, both economic and health solutions must be addressed integrally. Governments must be reminded that the health of the population cannot be compromised by any other political intentions. The protection and recovery of life is very important.
Commitment to amplify the call for a better Health System. The global health systems must be fixed. The many discoveries of hospitals (mostly in big countries) having no adequate medical equipment is a revelation of utter disregard of health care.
A better health system will address future health crisis, it will totally guarantee a livable future for humanity, it will purposely maximize the funds contributed by the people to the state and will enable the governments to save lives. “Many corporations have been helping to shore up the health system response. Pharmaceutical companies are working with governments to increase testing capability, while manufacturers are offering to shift or add new production lines to manufacture masks and ventilators. Tech companies are providing crucial digital tools to overcome social isolation, promote social cohesion and raise awareness on health and safety guidelines to address the pandemic.”88
Commitment to Provide Sustainable Assistance. The poor must not be forgotten, the most vulnerable in our midst. As many of them are living in unjust conditions even before this global crisis, the more they are pushed to survival. The incapacities of governments are replaced by the high-spirited initiatives of individuals. Globally, local churches, NGO’s are mobilizing campaigns to address the glooming situation of the people, by providing sustained food assistance to livelihood. “Civil Society and grassroots
organizations, community Based Organizations (CBOs) and Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) play a vital role at the local level. In assisting the most vulnerable populations, these groups are active in bringing economic and livelihood opportunities and adapting responses to the community context.”89
Commitment to address continuing social injustices. Many social issues are cropping up in this period of uncertainty. Pope Francis reminded us in his 2020 Urbi et Orbi message: “The crisis we are facing should not make us forget the many other crises that bring suffering to so many people. May the Lord of life be close to all those in Asia and Africa who are experiencing grave humanitarian crises, as in the Province of Cabo Delgado in the north of Mozambique. May he warm the hearts of the many refugees displaced because of wars, drought and famine. May he grant protection to migrants and refugees, many of them children, who are living in unbearable conditions, especially in Libya and on the border between Greece and Turkey. And I do not want to forget the island of Lesvos. To achieve concrete and immediate solutions in Venezuela, aimed at facilitating international aid to the people suffering from the serious political, socioeconomic and health situation.”90
Very revealing is the impact of the crisis on the labor sector, the number runs in millions of workers to be jobless and out of work; this will have a disastrous impact on the many families. “Countries must commit to do their utmost to protect the labour force, including workers who depend entirely on daily earnings and those in the informal sector and support their employment and income. This must be the goal of all coordinated fiscal and monetary actions.”91 Commitment to re-invigorate the co-existence of People with Nature. We are finding healing thru nature, we are sustained by nature thru the fruitful harvests from nature, without nature –we can hardly live during this crisis. “Caring for ecosystems demands far-sightedness… the cost of the damage caused by such selfish lack of concern is much greater than the economic benefits to be
obtained. Where certain species are destroyed or seriously harmed, the values involved are incalculable. We can be silent witnesses to terrible injustices if we think that we can obtain significant benefits by making the rest of humanity, present and future, pay the extremely high costs of environmental deterioration.”92
The continuity of life is possible. The concern for nature is beyond the pandemic, teaching humanity doable lessons for caring peoples’ health and protecting nature. That the systemic pattern of destroying the Earth must end; the unending destruction of the Earth’s biodiversity as well must stop, the throw-away culture must be addressed; the human-centered dominion must change; the care for nature must be emboldened better. “And when we get past this crisis, we will face a choice – go back to the world we knew before or deal decisively with those issues that make us all unnecessarily vulnerable to this and future crises. Everything we do during and after this crisis must be with a strong focus on building more equal and inclusive societies that are more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate change, and the many other challenges we face.”93
“We have no future if we destroy the very environment that sustains us.”94
Conclusion
Both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor enrich our Christian response to the ecological crisis and the social crisis as well. The enriching ecological framework of our catholic theology enables us to rediscover more deeply the relevance of our faith in the contemporary issues affecting humanity. Contextualizing this, we need to make the following commitments to be respond to the cries of the earth and the poor: a) respond to the call of integral ecology; b) embrace ecological conversion; c) discern the spirit of Laudato Si.
Responding to the Call of Integral Ecology
The reality of suffering in the world directed Pope Francis to put all his efforts in calling for ‘solidarity’ in tripartite direction: human, natural and socio-economic. He calls for a “new and universal solidarity,” where people, institutions, organizations and even countries must work together to stop the destruction of humanity and environment. Pope Francis identified the interconnectivity of all these, he calls this “integral ecology”95; parallel to the call in addressing the social, ecological, political and cultural imbalances “an approach to ecology which respects our unique place as human beings in this world and our relationship to our surroundings.”96 Indeed, the problem is not just ecological, with potentially catastrophic impacts cascading through financial, political and social systems97.
Christian identity is reflective in the active presence in the peripheries, where we encounter Jesus98 in our service to others.
1. to propose a collective encounter with Jesus in our diverse social response as a way of responding to the urgency of social and ecological imbalance affecting the lives of our people in the peripheries.
2. to encourage communitarian action among our christian communities, demanding a consistent conversion of heart and spirit, effecting institutional change and witnessing.
3. to align our resources to care for our common home, to be shared as a way of our effective proclamation of the Gospel in the realities of human suffering affecting nature, communities and societies.
Embracing Ecological Conversion
The social dimension of our faith enables us to embrace contemporary social realities, where “injustices abound and growing numbers of people are deprived of basic human rights and considered expendable,”99
situating our strategic response of working for the common good and justice.
Ecological conversion, is our response to the urgency of the challenge, an education in ecological citizenship and an ethical and spiritual itinerary to reduce our footprint and reverse the deterioration of the natural and social environment. We need ecological conversion “whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them… Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue…”100 This conversion presupposes change, we need to work together. Every individual, as a community and as an institution.
Pope Francis re-enforces ecological conversion by introducing the idea of ecological repentance101, he calls for an adequate legal protection of our common home, he also pointed the relevance of the catechetical dimension of the damage done to the environment, citing it as an “ecocide”, as the ecological sin against the common home. As every Christian has the duty to protect creation; pointing out the many irresponsible conducts of corporations related to the massive contamination of air, land and water resources, the large-scale destruction of flora and fauna, and any action capable of producing an ecological disaster or destroying an ecosystem.102 With this he clearly mentioned the proposal from the Synod Fathers for the Pan-Amazon Region, in line with the teaching of the Church, the definition of ecological sin103 the sin against ecology.
The ecological conversion for which we are appealing will lead us to a new way of looking at life, as we consider the generosity of the Creator who has given us the earth and called us to a share it in joy and moderation. This conversion must be understood in an integral way, as a transformation
of how we relate to our sisters and brothers, to other living beings, to creation in all its rich variety and to the Creator who is the origin and source of all life. For Christians, it requires that [the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them.104
Discerning the Spirit of Laudato Si’
Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ provides a guided direction for the Church on addressing the social issues, especially the environmental crisis. In this pastoral document, he clearly emphasized the importance of responding to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor; offering a guided reflection of realities to achieve a better response to address the ecological crisis.
1. Continuity. Pope Francis traces the Church’s concern for creation, he recalls the initiative of his predecessors: Pope Saint John XXIII ‘s proposal for Peace, Blessed Paul VI’s approach of “common destiny by solidarity” to address the environmental crisis, St. John Paul II called for the need of “new solidarity”, and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI introduced a new direction of “intergenerational solidarity” in addressing the holistically both the natural and social ecological imbalance. And Pope Francis in his encyclical introduces a “new and universal solidarity” in caring for creation.
2. Collegiality. The principal sources of the encyclical were the pastoral letters of the different episcopal conferences around the Catholic world. Notably, the united concerns of the bishops on caring for our damaged planet and people. He makes the concerns of the bishops, a pressing concern of the Church. With the publication and call for action of the encyclical; there is a need for the local churches and
communities to give in return to the spirit of Pope Francis’ call “cry of the earth, cry of the poor”; hoping that Laudato Si’ may find its way forward in the program of the local churches – across the Catholic world and beyond.
3. Conversation. The encyclical was crafted across the unifying spirit on how people of color, faith experiences, uniqueness of advocacy must take a collective stand to save Mother Earth from ecological destruction. Pope Francis communicated beyond barriers, he consulted climate scientists, notable climate activists, ecotheologians – of different faith traditions, even atheists. His concern for creation then, reverberates in the hearts of Christians, Muslims, non-believers and across cultures. Laudato Si’ is not an exclusive document only for the Catholic world, it is also for those who are concerned to care for nature and people.
4. Care. The word “care’ spells out the embracing message of the encyclical. Care for the poor, care for the planet, care for nature, care for the communities, care for people - care for God’s creation. More meaningful than the word “stewardship”; “care” encompasses the meaning of love – the way to save the planet is to care for creation. Care answers the realities emphasized in Laudato Si’ as “cry.”
5. Conversion. Pope Francis demands an ecological transformation, both personal and institutional ecological conversion. In each of us, we need “ecological conversion, whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them. Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian
experience.” 105 It is a way of reconciling with creation: “To achieve such reconciliation, we must examine our lives and acknowledge the ways in which we have harmed God’s creation through our actions and our failure to act. We need to experience a conversion, or change of heart.”106
6. Citizenship. This calls for a formative action, responding to the educational challenge of caring creation “It seeks also to restore the various levels of ecological equilibrium, establishing harmony within ourselves, with others, with nature and other living creatures, and with God.”107 The projected result of this, we will be able to create an “ecological citizenship”; persons aware of their duty to “create a culture of shared life and respect for our surroundings.”108
7. Contemplation. It is through re-examining our faith-beginnings, from convictions along with the living experience of the gospel of life, lived in the written pages of witnessing. "The ultimate purpose of other creatures is not to be found in us. Rather, all creatures are moving forward with us and through us towards a common point of arrival, which is God, in that transcendent fullness where the risen Christ embraces and illumines all things. Human beings, endowed with intelligence and love, and drawn by the fullness of Christ, are called to lead all creatures back to their Creator."109 From here, our praxis of caring for our common home is grounded on the formative development of our faith-experience that values the sacredness of everything that exists. We are all part of God’s creative process, “all of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.”110 A better awareness on responding to the cry of the earth and the poor: that earth cries for justice for its destruction, not limited to environmental protection but by its very nature
of being a created space for which God’s creation exists; that the poor continues to seek for social justice as long as the structures of social injustice exist, adequate social responses must be aligned to care for the common good, expressed in the effort to ensure that no one whose human dignity is violated in its basic needs will be forgotten.111 Thus, the cry of the earth is as equally urgent as the cry of the poor [care of people and the care of ecosystems are inseparable],112 in the situations of climate and social injustices. Failure to care for creation and to care for the poor, enables these injustices to continue our concern cannot be limited merely to the threat of extreme weather events, but must also extend to the catastrophic consequences of social unrest.113