18 June 2015
Today the Encyclical Laudato si’ has been officially launched. A much
expected first letter of the Holy Father who is addressed to all people
(Paragraph 4).
It is very significant that this first letter is dedicated to the environment, ecology, climate change and related issues, to the “care of our common home”.
It is very significant that this first letter is dedicated to the environment, ecology, climate change and related issues, to the “care of our common home”.
This encyclical proves to all that these are matters at the heart of
our Christian faith, and that we as Christians should address them
together as issues of justice and peace. This is the time to focus on
our shared responsibility as human beings, and the way we as churches
should support those who are ready to make the required changes.
The letter addresses, in fact, one of the more important challenges
of our time: the ecological crisis. This has various components, among
them, climate change, the water crisis, the loss of biodiversity. As
churches have said many times, climate change has to be seen as a global
problem with environmental, social, economic, distributive and
political implications (25). The Pope stresses the scientific consensus
on global warming due to human activities (23) and reminds us we need to
see climate change as a common good (23ff). He furthermore strongly
proclaims that “access to safe drinking water is an essential,
fundamental and universal human right” (30).
We welcome the Holy Father recognizes that “other churches and
Christian communities have had a deep concern and a precious reflection”
(7). The leading role His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew has played in protecting the environment and condemning the
destruction of creation as a sin is adequately reflected (7-9).
Ecology and economy are intertwined. While the debt of poor countries
is many times highlighted, many times the ecological debt (51-52) is
forgotten.
We share the concerns expressed by the Holy Father on the lack of
progress made at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change process. While on some aspects like the Basel Convention on
hazardous wastes or Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (168) relevant
achievements can be regcognized, on Climate Change Convention the
progress made is regretfully very limited (169).
To address adequately to the ecological crisis the Holy Father
stresses the need for dialogue between politics and economy (189-198)
and religion and science (199-201). We consider these dialogues as a sine qua non
condition for an effective and much needed response. Together with
these dialogues, we need to change our lifestyles (203-208) as well as
social and political relations (209-232).
This is a difficult call to conversion, which is at the core of the
Gospel’s message. A deep spirituality of creation (233-240) can help us
to undergo this process as a pilgrimage. As we, as WCC, advance in a
pilgrimage of justice and peace, we feel close to Pope Francis’ message
when he recalls that “we human beings are united as brothers and sisters
on a wonderful pilgrimage, woven together by the love God has for each
of his creatures” (92).
Geneva, 18 June 2015
Source:
WCC
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