1/21/2010
Respecting ecology, environmental and human
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 | Most Rev. John Vlazny
Archbishop of Portland |
The new year began, as it has in recent years, with the celebration of Mass at the convent of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon. For many years now New Year’s Day has been designated World Day of Prayer for Peace. This year Pope Benedict chose a theme for the day which hopefully raises our awareness of the close link in our globalized world between the safeguard of creation and the cultivation of peace. In the Pope’s words, “If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation.”
In recent years the religious women of this country have been strong proponents of responsible care of our environment. In my homily on New Year’s Day I thought it would be particularly appropriate to share with them some of the sentiments our Holy Father expressed in his message for this 43rd World Day of Peace. Most of us recognize that more than one day of prayer for peace is needed each year and so I thought it would be a good idea to share some of the Holy Father’s sentiments with all of you at this time.
The theme for this year’s World Day of Prayer for Peace chosen by Pope Benedict probably surprised some people and may have even annoyed others. Pope Benedict points out that respect for creation and its preservation have become a central concern for the peaceful coexistence of the whole human race. Certainly wars and conflicts, terrorism and violation of human rights are obstacles to peace. Threats arising from the neglect and misuse of the earth and the natural goods that God has given us also debilitate our efforts to live together on this fine earth as good and friendly neighbors.
Yes, all of creation is indeed a blessing. The Pope reminds us of the beautiful words from Psalm 8, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars which you have established, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” When we contemplate the beauty of creation we are inspired to recognize the love of the Creator for all of creation, for you and for me, for all he has given us to sustain us on our life’s journey.
Throughout the Christmas season many of us prayed before Nativity scenes in our churches and in our homes. There we saw depicted the harmony in that first Christian family, Mary, Joseph and Jesus, a harmony which mirrored the harmony that exists between the Creator, the human family and the created world. The original harmony was destroyed by the sin of Adam and Eve and it continues to be destoyed by our own sinfulness. Too often we want to take the place of God and refuse to acknowledge that we are only His creatures. Pope Benedict says that, as a result, the work of “exercising dominion” over the earth, which was intended to be a matter of caring for the earth’s original harmony, has been misguided and hence conflict has arisen.
The human family, once sin entered the world, allowed itself to be mastered by selfishness and misunderstood the meaning of God’s command, exploiting creation out of a desire to exercise absolute dominion over everything. The secularism of our age has brought that sense of domination even into human relationships, witness the growing acceptance of cloning, abortion, euthanasia and the like. When we set ourselves up in place of God, then eventually and inevitably we will be much more tyrannized than cared for within the human family.
This week, on Friday, Jan. 22, our nation marks the sad anniversary of the legalization of abortion on demand in this country through the Roe v. Wade decision of our United States Supreme Court. All of us are asked to observe this day as one of prayer and penance. Unfortunately, many of our friends who join us in encouraging responsibility towards creation fail to recognize how the degradation of nature, as Pope Benedict states, is closely linked to the cultural models shaping human coexistence. Pope Benedict points out in his latest encyclical, Charity in Truth, “when ‘human ecology’ is respected within society, environmental ecology also benefits.” How can young people be asked to respect the environment if they are not helped to respect themselves? In the words of Pope Benedict, “The book of nature is one and indivisible; it includes not only the environment but also individual, family and social ethics. Our duties towards the environment flow from our duties towards the person, considered both individually and in relation to others.”
In the Pope’s judgment, a greater sense of ecological responsibility will likewise safeguard an authentic “human ecology” and thus forcefully reaffirm the inviolability of human life at every stage and in every condition, the dignity of the person and the unique mission of the family, where one is trained in love of neighbor and respect for nature. More than 30 years ago Pope Paul VI said that if you want peace, work for justice. We know that injustice thrives when relationships are wrong. Relationships within our human family as well as those between our human family and the environment have become markedly wrong these days. They must be replaced by respect, respect for the human person and all of creation. Only then when we acknowledge the individual relationship between God, human beings and all of creation will peace be possible.
It would seem that some concern for protecting the environment results in absolutizing nature or apparently considering it more important than the human person. When the church expresses certain misgivings about notions of the environment inspired by ecocentrism and biocentrism, this occurs because these notions tend to eliminate the difference of identity and worth between the human person and other living things. The church, Pope Benedict asserts, calls for respect for the “grammar” which God has inscribed in his handiwork by making the human family stewards and administrators with responsibility over creation, a road which we may not abuse but one which we likewise may not abdicate. Any initiative which would absolutize technology and human power becomes a grave assault both on nature and human dignity itself.
Pope Benedict makes it clear that the protection of creation and peacemaking are profoundly linked. He invites us all to pray that everyone will take to heart his urgent appeal, “If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation.” This is our prayer. This is our sincere hope as we embark upon this second decade of the third millennium of Christianity.
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