Human ecology – Integral Voices

Laudato Sí is Pope Francis’s gift to the world in order to make a new beginning in this most urgent and dramatic hour of history. He makes a powerful statement that we do not have the right to continue imperiously to contaminate and ruin God’s work.

Laudato Sí is a beautiful gift because it invites us to develop a new way of looking, to see God’s creation as a work of God’s gratuitous and merciful love. If we really believe that we are created in the image and likeness of God, then we can express this deep respect, care, and reverence for all the beings of creation – not so much as resources in relation to our human interests – but rather as creatures of God’s love, and deserving of our love, too, in acknowledgment that “every creature has its own value and significance” (76). God creates as an act of love so that “every creature is thus the object of the Father’s tenderness, who [sic] gives it its place in the world. Even the fleeting life of the least of beings is the object of his love, and in its few seconds of existence, God enfolds it with his affection” (77).

If you ask me what changes have come about in this first year since Laudato Sí was published, I would say that many of us are developing a contemplative vision, one that is loving and respectful of God’s work. For me, this is a sign that a new culture is possible: one of care and respect, for we no longer see things as “natural resources” but rather as being immersed in and dependent on our “Sister, Mother Earth” (1). She is like the great womb that takes us in and covers us. We ourselves are earth because “our very bodies are made up of her elements; we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters” (2).

Laudato Sí also challenges and commits us to rethink our lives and our relationships in order to live this new beginning. Pope Francis quotes the 2000 Earth Charter: “As never before in history, common destiny beckons us to seek a new beginning…. Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful celebration of life” (Laudato Sí, 207).

Each page of Laudato Sí challenges us to take seriously what we are all living: Time is running out. We have grown accustomed to the idea of a consumer-oriented society, but this is self-centered and ruins what it wants to produce by rendering satisfaction and serenity themselves out of reach. The world cannot continue with this irresponsible waste in which many still believe the lie that our planet’s resources are unlimited. When people cut down forests, when they pollute the seas, when they cause glaciers to melt through greenhouse gas emissions, there is no way to recover these treasures of creation. The hour has come in which those who exploit and consume the most must be willing to curtail their destructive behavior so that even the least well off can live lives worthy of the dignity of the human person (as the image of God).

In the face of globalized indifference, we now must globalize solidarity, compassion, and care. Laudato Sí is generating a new consciousness for a renewed hope that this is possible. The road ahead is long and complicated, but we must believe that God will never abandon us.

Laudato Si: un regalo para un tiempo nuevo

Laudato si es un regalo del Papa Francisco para asumir un nuevo comienzo, en esta urgente y dramática hora de la historia, pues no tenemos derecho a seguir contaminando y depredando impunemente la obra de Dios.

Es un regalo hermoso porque nos invita a una nueva mirada, a ver la creación de Dios como obra de su amor gratuito y misericordioso. Si realmente creemos que somos creados a imagen y semejanza de Dios, expresando ese profundo respeto, cuidado y reverencia por todos los seres de la creación, pues ellos no existen como recursos en función de intereses humanos, son obras de su amor, “cada criatura tiene un valor y un significado” (76). Dios crea porque ama, “entonces, cada criatura es objeto de la ternura del Padre, que le da un lugar en el mundo. Hasta la vida efímera del ser más insignificante es objeto de su amor y, en esos pocos segundos de existencia, él lo rodea con su cariño” (77).

Si me preguntan qué cambios se están experimentando en este primer año de Laudato si, diría que muchos de nosotros estamos desarrollando una mirada contemplativa, amorosa y respetuosa por toda la obra de Dios, y eso para mí es señal que es posible una nueva cultura de cuidado y respeto pues no estamos frente a “recursos naturales,” estamos inmersos y dependientes de nuestra “Hermana, Madre Tierra,” ella es como el gran útero que nos acoge y cobija. Nosotros mismos somos tierra, “nuestro propio cuerpo está constituido por los elementos del planeta, su aire es el que nos da aliento, y su agua nos vivifica y restaura” (2).

Laudato si también desafía y compromete a repensar nuestra vida y relaciones para vivir un nuevo comienzo, el Papa Francisco cita la Carta de la Tierra del año 2000: “como nunca antes en la historia, el destino común nos hace un llamado a buscar un nuevo comienzo. … Que el nuestro sea un tiempo que se recuerde por el despertar de una nueva reverencia ante la vida, por la firme resolución de alcanzar la sostenibilidad; por el aceleramiento en la lucha por la justicia y la paz y por la alegre celebración de la vida”(207).

Cada página de Laudato si desafía a que tomemos en serio lo que estamos viviendo todos, el tiempo se está acabando, nos hemos acostumbrado a la idea de una sociedad orientada al consumo, pero esto progreso consumista, autocentrado, y depredador nos lleva a la ruina. El mundo no puede seguir con un derroche irresponsable y contaminador y con la ficción de que los recursos del planeta son ilimitados, no es cierto; un bosque que se arrasa, un mar depredado, un glaciar derretido, no se recuperan; es hora que los que más tienen decrezcan para que los que menos tienen puedan vivir humanamente, con la dignidad de personas creadas a la imagen de Dios.

Frente a la indiferencia globalizada es el tiempo de globalizar la solidaridad, la compasión y el cuidado. Laudato si está generando una nueva conciencia para una renovada esperanza, de que es posible. El camino es largo y complejo, pero debemos creer que Dios no nos abandona nunca.

Refugees and Migrants – Are they part of Our Common Good?

January 9, 2017January 10, 2017integralvoicesLeave a comment

By Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo, M.S.W., A.C.S.W., Secretary General, International Catholic Migration Commission

23324101485_24e443dab5_z — A group of refugee schoolgirls in Malaysia participating in ICMC’s awareness-raising activities aimed to prevent gender- and sexual-based violence. © ICMC/WEI Chien Tee

In my global advocacy activities, both as the secretary general of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) and as part-time attaché at the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, I have been amazed at the positive response of diplomats and international nongovernmental organization (NGO) advocates to Pope Francis’s landmark encyclical, Laudato Si’[1]. Many who would pass by me at the United Nations when they noticed my Roman collar now greet me warmly and tell me, “I like your Pope and his encyclical!” Despite my joy upon receiving these positive echoes, I am concerned that too many still see the encyclical as focusing on climate change alone (as vital and important as that issue might be) and do not discern the deeper implications of Pope Francis’s call for “integral human ecology,” which requires a profound discernment of our relationship with God, with nature, and with ourselves and each other.

In the sixth chapter of the encyclical, the Holy Father issued a rather curious challenge – that is, to promote “civic and political love”: “We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it (220)…. Social love is the key to authentic development (231).” What a contrast between Pope Francis’s admonition and the demeaning political rhetoric that dominated the recent referendum vote in the United Kingdom and the political campaigns in the United States and Europe!

The bitter debate about admission of migrants and refugees into Western countries is literally the most glaring proof of the crying need to promote civil and political love in our world. In February 2016, while standing at the border between Mexico and the United States, Pope Francis described the current situation in this manner: “We cannot deny the humanitarian crisis which in recent years has meant migration for thousands of people, whether by train or highway or on foot, crossing hundreds of kilometers through mountains, deserts and inhospitable zones. The human tragedy that is forced migration is a global phenomenon today. This crisis, which can be measured in numbers and statistics, we want instead to measure with names, stories, families.”[2]

On January 15, 2017, the Catholic Church observes the 103^rd World Day of Migrants and Refugees. For this occasion, Pope Francis has decided to focus on “Minor migrants, vulnerable and voiceless,”[3] who often arrive unaccompanied in their destination countries, “are unable to make their own voices heard” and “easily become victims of grave violations of human rights.” In his message for this day, the Holy Father insists on the need to strike a balance between “the right of states to control migratory movement and to protect the common good of the nation … with the duty to resolve and regularize the situation of child migrants.” He reminds us that the migration phenomenon is part of salvation history, which speaks of the providential work of God in history and in the human community, with a view to universal communion.” Echoing dominant themes of Catholic social teaching, and specifically of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis calls for far-sighted perspectives, “capable of offering adequate programmes for areas struck by the worst injustice and instability, in order that access to authentic development can be guaranteed for all,” and reminds us that “this development should promote the good of boys and girls, who are humanity’s hope.”

My own organization, the ICMC, received a mandate from Pope Pius XII, “…to unite and organize existing Catholic associations and committees, and to promote, reinforce and coordinate their projects and activities in behalf of migrants and refugees.[4]” I recently visited the ICMC Refugee Service Centre in Istanbul, Turkey; our staff there are deeply engaged in assisting families to apply for resettlement in the United States. These refugees cannot return home, and their current host country is unable to offer them permanent residence, employment, and long-term safety.

SG Visit 3.JPG — Monsignor Vitillo visits with refugee children at the ICMC Refugee Service Centre in Istanbul, Turkey. © ICMC

During my visit, I spent time with a group of children who were receiving instruction on life in America. As most children, they were enthusiastic and curious – they grinned from ear to ear and spoke of what they planned to do in their new homes. Each had colored a map of the United States, placed his or her destination state in a special color and spoke with confidence about heading to better and happier lives. But behind their smiling faces, I noticed pain and trauma in their eyes. They had witnessed terrible atrocities; several had lost their loved ones. I am sure that they were experiencing much anxiety and concern about how safe they would be as they boarded an airplane heading for parts of the world that would be very unfamiliar to them. What impressed me most about these children, however, was their sense of hope – they could imagine a better life for themselves and their families despite the many challenges they had experienced so early in life. They, like the Child Jesus, could still imagine the world described by the prophet Isaiah, where “… the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat. The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them (Is. 11:6).”

For me, the time with these child refugees was a real lesson in a way to promote “civic and political love” that seems to be so lacking in our contemporary society and living proof that refugees and migrants are part of our common good!

[1] Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 24 May 2015, available at http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/ documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html.

[2] Idem, Apostolic Journey to Mexico, Homily during Mass at Ciudad Juarez Fairgrounds, 17 February 2016, available at https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2016/documents/papa-francesco_20160217_omelia-messico-ciudad-jaurez.html.

[3] Idem, Message for The World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2017 (“Child Migrants, the Vulnerable and the Voiceless”), Vatican City, released 8 September 2016, available at https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/ messag[15 January 2017], es/migration/documents/papa-francesco_20160908_world-migrants-day-2017.html.

[4] Pope Pius XII, Exsul Familia Nazarethana, 1952, available at http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius12/ p12exsul.htm.

Reactions to Laudato Si

January 6, 2017May 30, 2017integralvoicesLeave a comment

By The Rev. Peter J. Henriot, S.J., Ph.D., with Lester A. Myers, Ph.D., J.D., CPA, CFF, CGMA

How do I react to the monumental encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si? Well, thinking about how to respond to that question brought to my mind three things I should be very clear about from the start:

I am a Jesuit, not a Franciscan.

I’ve lived in Africa for the past three decades, not in the United States.

I’m a political scientist, not an ecological scientist.

First of all, I’m not much of a “brother sun,” “sister moon,” “mother earth,” sort of person. To be honest, I probably had never read the Canticle of Francis of Assisi until it began appearing everywhere on the Internet after Pope Francis released his encyclical. My formation in Jesuit spirituality seemed a lot less “poetic” than the lyrical expressions of the poor man of Assisi. But recently I’ve been challenged to go deeper into the Ignatian view of our created order. A Spanish Jesuit ecologist, José Antonio García, S.J., opened for me the environmentalist reading (and praying!) of the “Foundation” and the “Contemplation” of Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises.

Simply expressed, the created world deeply reveals God’s loving presence and calls for a respect and cooperation in every aspect of my life. While our Jesuit Pope does not cite Ignatius in Laudato Si, he–and I–cannot help but be influenced by what is really a radical Ignatian ecological spirituality.

Second, my understanding of today’s environmental crisis is influenced by my experience of climate change in Africa in recent years. While some prominent people might deny climate change, no one who lives in the midst of the environmental disasters of drought and flood such as I have experienced in Malawi in recent years can be blind to such a reality.

Paragraphs 25 and 26 of Laudato Si especially speak of the consequences of climate change to the livelihoods of the poor in the so-called “developing countries.” Pope Francis notes that the means of subsistence of these poor “are largely dependent on natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture, fishing and forestry.” And these are the realities most threatened by the climate change affecting the people I know in Africa.

Third, by training I look at the responses that Laudato Si recommends primarily in political terms – and I’m pleased that Pope Francis is very much aware of the need for political action and the relationship between such action and our joint and collective economic decisions about consumption, savings, and investment. He repeatedly emphasizes that the changes that will really respect our common home require actions by citizens that will especially influence economic decisions: “Unless citizens control political power – national, regional and municipal – it will not be possible to control damage to the environment” (179).

Certainly this political emphasis is urgently needed in these days of transition of leadership in the United States. A president who denies the reality of climate change and promises to withdraw from international agreements to promote economic growth is a threat to cumulative gains, however modest these have been. As Pope Francis notes, there is an overwhelming body of scientific research supporting the conclusions that (1) climate change is real and (2) human activity is its principal cause. To suggest otherwise, e.g, through the Orwellian substitution of “climate contrarian” for “climate change denier,” is to practice a modern form of misology. Likewise, to discount the credibility of scientific researchers and the legitimacy of their work by imputing political or financial bias to them is intellectually dishonest in the face of the enormous political and financial interests that have everything to gain through such denials.

However, even the political realm is only part of the story and Catholic social tradition recognizes a pluralism of institutions: multiple centers of gravity for reinforcing salutary policies and practices. It is telling that corporations have joined civil society organizations, universities, faith-influenced organizations, and even the military and intelligence communities to hold fast to the scientific conclusions about climate change and to support global collaboration through public and private institutions to mitigate and try to reverse this threat.

When Pope Francis asks such hard questions through the lenses of the Canticle, chemistry, and cosmology, he brings us to an encounter with both sobering truths and venerable tools of Catholic social tradition for engaging with them. This is very much in the spirit of Pope Pius XI’s call for subsidiarity in the wake of the Great Depression, Pope John XXIII’s invocation of socialization after the Cuban missile crisis, and John Paul II’s exhortation to solidarity in building a global millennial consciousness in the wake of the Cold War. Pope Francis, in voicing an ethic of care for our common home and one another in Laudato Si, enlarges our ethical vision, our willingness to see afresh the challenging signs of the times, and our resolve to think differently and to act differently to build a future worthy of our principles and our promise.