I am not a scientist but a lowly Catholic priest whose ministry as a priest is to call people to conversion to Christ and His Church through repentance of personal sins and seeking God's grace for a long life in service to the Church until the Lord calls us to Himself for our particular judgement and just reward in eternity.
Is there climate change that could cause a worldwide loss of life and an end to the planet? I suspect there is and sources I have read, scientific sources, don't all seem to agree on what is causing it, but certainly human industrial activity and pollution could be one of the causes. Or it could be written into nature itself.
Some in the Church and world, use to blame homosexuals and their obsessive, compulsive, libertine promiscuous lifestyles as the cause of the HIV crisis that was leading to the extinction of homosexuals and others who engage in unsafe (i.e. immoral) sexual habits and compulsions.
We can also blame individuals and corporations that produce "food and drink" for obesity that is causing so many health problems for the young and old alike and leading them to an early death. Processed foods and the suggestion that we should eat the highly processed and questionable "impossible meats industry products" are the root of this. But has anyone judged and called for an end to the highly processed and unhealthy impossible meats, to snack foods, fast foods and the like?
I live on Hilton Head Island. At its modern founding in the 1950's, the Island instituted strict laws to make sure the island was preserved, as much as possible, from unregulated growth and destruction. There are strict laws but chopping down trees (even on personal property) and about how buildings will look and function. National and local businesses must comply with that look and no neon signs are permitted even for fast food chains. There is limited night lighting to product the wildlife and their habits.
In terms of chopping down trees, Hurricane Matthew back in 2016, knocked down thousands and thousands of trees here. Many said that since humans did not do the thinning out nature did it for us!
But nature itself can be harsh and unforgiving. Natural fires occur to thin out forests to preserve them. But something is going to suffer and die because of these needed natural remedies.
Earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, and other natural cataclysmic disasters help to control the human and other creatures population and create forces of healing and restoration but over the course of decades, centuries and millennia.
The Ice Age was not man made but was natural and needed in order to make the dinosaurs extinct but other creatures evolved after that. Those poor dinosaurs, what could they have done to prevent the ice age?
We all want to remain young and healthy, but no matter how well we care for ourselves, and avoid accidents and injuries, we will die even if we live to 120. But, nonetheless, those of us who are health conscious, and I am one of them, will take care of ourselves and change habits and diets that are speeding up the inevitable.
We all are going to die and so is this planet. The pope does well to judge nations who are complicit in a lifestyle that speeds up the death of the planet and all living things, including we humans. But the pope's primary responsibility in terms of the finiteness that is humanity and the planet on which we live is to repent of our sins, turn to Jesus Christ, be baptized and live and sacramental life. In other words, to know, love and serve Jesus in this life in order to be happy with Him forever in heaven, where there is no sin, evil or man made disaster in the making. A proper ecological concern for our planet and our bodies is a part of the Good Works, coupled with the right Faith, that will save us through Jesus Christ here and in eternity.
Press title for Crux's report on the Pope's climate manifesto:
Pope rips climate skepticism, faults US for emissions in new eco-manifesto
In terms of assigning blame for the climate crisis, the pontiff is critical of wealthy nations, especially the United States, for disproportionately causing the emissions that scientists believe drive global warming.
25 comments:
The vast majority of references are to the author himself and to WEF-type NGOs. Hrm.
It's difficult to see the finger-pointing at the United States as anything more than (even more!) selective anti-Americanism/anti-Westernism, as it completely ignores that China's CO2 emissions have quadrupled in a period in which the United States' emissions have dropped, despite the American population increasing at a greater rate than the Chinese.
The one good thing I could say about it is that it's only ~7000 words, not the novel-like length of LS or AL.
Nick
Well of course he supports Communist China, he is a leftist and despises freedom. The most arrogant and ignorant Pope of my lifetime. Basta!
I smell a CHICOM ghost writer. The total emissions of China would be 150% of USA because their population is 3X as large. Their standard of living is lower on average but where it is comparable to the West it is much worse. But it is a fool’s errand to rank errors of this sort. A task apparently custom suited to the Vatican. The Church should inspire humanity to express gratitude for God’s work through proper care for Creation. The acts will be many and varied, seemingly even contradictory at times. This is why the Vatican should avoid dolling out advice on the subject but only offer ways to evaluate and plan actions.
Approaching the topic from a spiritual angle would make sense. How do we as secular people incorporate poverty, chastity and obedience into our daily lives.
Rick,
Poverty, chastity and obedience are three vows some religious take. Diocesan priests do not take the vow of poverty. Jesuits take a fourth vow of loyalty to the Pope.
But everyone in one way or another according to their state in life are to embrace some form of poverty, chastity and obedience, maybe not in a vow per se but according to their baptismal promises and what the Church teaches as the role of the laity in the Church and world.
Pope Benedict XVI could have written Laudate Deum. Pope Francis' current Apostolic Exhortation lines up wonderfully with Pope Benedict XVI's powerful teachings in regard to climate change.
Pope Benedict XVI insisted that climate change was real. He insisted that climate change/our care for the environment was a human life issue. He emphasized that applying Church teaching to climate change/our care for the environment was vital to obtain world peace. Otherwise, world peace was impossible to obtain.
He insisted that western nations must downsize their collective lifestyle. The West must downsize its consumption of the world's resources, according to Pope Benedict XVI.
Finally, detractors of Pope Francis: Those who denounce His Holiness as a "leftist." Brace yourselves as you read the following:
Pope Benedict XVI, 2009 A.D:
-- Pope calls for a "global authority" on economy
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict called on Tuesday for a “world political authority” to manage the global economy and for more government regulation of national economies to pull the world out of the current crisis and avoid a repeat.
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Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical CARITAS IN VERITATE, #67:
"To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority, as my predecessor Blessed John XXIII indicated some years ago."
"Furthermore, such an authority would need to be universally recognized and to be vested with the effective power to ensure security for all, regard for justice, and respect for rights."
"Obviously it would have to have the authority to ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties, and also with the coordinated measures adopted in various international forums.'
"The integral development of peoples and international cooperation require the establishment of a greater degree of international ordering, marked by subsidiarity, for the management of globalization."
"They also require the construction of a social order that at last conforms to the moral order, to the interconnection between moral and social spheres, and to the link between politics and the economic and civil spheres, as envisaged by the Charter of the United Nations."
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Father McDonald said..."In terms of assigning blame for the climate crisis, the pontiff is critical of wealthy nations, especially the United States, for disproportionately causing the emissions that scientists believe drive global warming."
Popes Saint John Paul II, as well as Benedict XVI, were very critical of first world western nations in regard to climate change, as well as consumption of the earth's resources.
Decades prior to Pope Francis' Pontificate, the bishops of the United States recognized that America is called to play a key role in regard to the above.
As early as 2001 A.D, the USCCB had noted:
"Because of the blessings God has bestowed on our nation and the power it possesses, the United States bears a special responsibility in its stewardship of God's creation to shape responses that serve the entire human family."
"We offer some themes from Catholic social teaching that could help to shape this dialogue, and we suggest some directions for the debate and public policy decisions that face us."
"Our religious tradition has always urged restraint and moderation in the use of material goods, so we must not allow our desire to possess more material things to overtake our concern for the basic needs of people and the environment."
"Pope John Paul II has linked protecting the environment to "authentic human ecology," which can overcome "structures of sin" and which promotes both human dignity and respect for creation."
"Changes in lifestyle based on traditional moral virtues can ease the way to a sustainable and equitable world economy in which sacrifice will no longer be an unpopular concept. "
Pax.
Mark Thomas
MT please cite where Pope Benedict made judgmental statements about any nations particular egregious actions or inactions as it concerns the USA compared to China. Benedict would have referred to generalities while being prophetic. Thus, Francis could take a page from Benedict’s diplomacy. As soon as I saw the condemnation of the USA and nothing toward China, I knew that this kind of wording would then cause the USA to accept or reject the pope’s teachings according to political polarizations. That is this pope’s modus opperandi.
The American Church should cut off sending any funds to Rome. Maybe Red China will make This Pope earned that! He is a leftwing loon. We have fallen very low with this guy. A total embarrassment.
Father McDonald said..."But everyone in one way or another according to their state in life are to embrace some form of poverty, chastity and obedience, maybe not in a vow per se but according to their baptismal promises and what the Church teaches as the role of the laity in the Church and world."
Father McDonald, thank you for your wonderful comment.
The following is among my favorite passages from the Second Vatican Council. The following is something that each person, not just priests, would do well to adopt:
PRESBYTERORUM ORDINIS, #17:
"Before the other followers of Christ, let priests set aside every appearance of vanity in their possessions."
"Let them arrange their homes so that they might not appear unapproachable to anyone, lest anyone, even the most humble, fear to visit them."
Pax.
Mark Thomas
TJM,
American Catholics will have so much of their income sucked up to "fix climate change" that they will have nothing left to send to Rome, so it's moot, really. The Chinese, on the other hand, will gladly send a few more billions to Rome in exchange for further betrayal of faithful Chinese Catholics.
Nick
Mark Thomas conveniently does NOT respond to Father McDonald's request that he cite examples of HOLY HOLY Pope Benedict criticizing countries by name. How rude!
Nick, sad but true. Notice how the proponents of Climate Change will "talk the talk" but never "walk the walk." These fplks are latter day Communists.
Father McDonald, Pope Benedict XVI criticized first world western nations for having contributed in key fashion to environmental degradation.
I do not recall that Pope Benedict XVI had mentioned the United States in regard to the above.
Please understand that I do not offer the following in nasty fashion: It matters not to me as to whether Pope Benedict XVI mentioned the United States directly in regard to the topic at hand.
Pope Francis mentioned the United States by name. That is his decision. It is not a big deal to me.
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It is fascinating that many among Pope Francis' critics denounced his "diplomacy" in regard to the war in Ukraine. He was informed that he must announce names.
Today, he mentioned, in truth, the United States by name. In turn, he has been denounced for his supposed lack of diplomacy in that regard.
Unbelievable.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
In regard to climate change/environmental issues:
The tremendous continuity between Popes Benedict XVI, as well Francis, is wonderful to behold. The following demonstrates said continuity, as well as the seriousness with which they approach/approached said issue:
Pope Benedict XVI: "The Church has a responsibility towards creation, and she considers it her duty to exercise that responsibility in public life, in order to protect earth, water and air as gifts of God the Creator meant for everyone, and above all to save mankind from the danger of self-destruction."
Pope Francis: "...the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point."
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Father McDonald said..."MT please cite where Pope Benedict made judgmental statements about any nations particular egregious actions or inactions as it concerns the USA compared to China. Benedict would have referred to generalities while being prophetic. Thus, Francis could take a page from Benedict’s diplomacy. As soon as I saw the condemnation of the USA and nothing toward China, I knew that this kind of wording would then cause the USA to accept or reject the pope’s teachings according to political polarizations."
Really?
I would think that each sentient adult in the United States is aware of the key role that, unfortunately, America has played in regard to environmental degradation. I find it difficult to believe that any sentient adult America would pretend otherwise.
Therefore, why would any American adopt a polarized response to the truth as told by Pope Francis?
================================================
But perhaps it's possible that there were/are Americans who believed the following:
In regard to environmental degradation: Pope Benedict XVI had failed to denounce the United States by name. Therefore, the United States is not among western nations who have ravaged the environment.
However, Pope Francis, in charitable fashion, has exchanged "diplomacy" for frank, honest dialogue. Americans are aware now as to where the United States stands in regard to having promoted environmental destruction.
Pope Francis, thank you for having engaged in clear, powerful, honest speech.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Mark Thomas,
Quit prevaricating, it is a sin. You have no evidence of Holy, Holy, Pope Benedict doing such a thing but we have evidence of Nasty, Nasty Pope Francis doing just that. I hate to burst another one of your delusions but the US is way ahead of China in reducing carbon emissions if you and Pf care to educate yourselves. Did you go to “Leftwing Loons R Us” Academy.
Jerome Merwick is right, you redefine delusional.
"Pope Benedict XVI could have written Laudate Deum."
True! He very well could have. He could also have written Laudato Si and Fratelli Tutti Fruity.
Yet he did not. Why he did not has not been revealed, but I strongly suspect it had something to do with his integrity as a man, his understanding of what a pope's role is and his superior intellect, which dwarfs the current leftist apparatchik aping the role of pope.
Yes, Pope Benedict may not be one of the greatest popes of all time, but he was one of the better popes of my lifetime and the only one who gave the Church a much-needed respite from the auto-demolition mode it has been in since the "great renewal" brought on by "the council".
As for the current regime...enough said.
Just one more reason why so many folks tune him out. His ability to make a sound argument is non-existent.
monkmcg:
Ultimately, this is a loss of credibility for the one longstanding institution that once had more crediblity than any other. It's like watching a once-thriving metropolis turn into a slum. Bergoglio has been written off as a joke or a heretic or an apostate or just a nut byhuge numbers of Catholics and non-Catholics. The sustained result of this is that our Church's prestige (not in the sense of human vanity, but in terms of respect) is diminished, perhaps irreversibly. The bulwark of morality we once represented has been compromised as the secular press is looking for any little crack that suggests the Church's position on controversial moral issues might change, even slightly. The result is that we are rapidly becoming "just another denomination" in the eyes of the world instead of one single institution that held fast to its convictions.
Jerome Merwick,
Add to your comment the fact that, decades after the abuse cover-ups came to light and did possibly more damage to the Church's moral credibility in the past century than anything else, we still have coverups and protection of abusers by high clerics (how high up in the Vatican? No journalist is brave enough to risk his or her Vatican credentials to ask). Including but not limited to Rupnik, Zanchetta, Ricard (who admitted abusing a 14-year-old girl and can still vote in conclave), Fernandez, and on and on it goes. It's simply astonishing how blithely so many churchmen continue opearting as if it were still 1975 and we Catholics hadn't been battered down, dioceses bankrupted, etc. for this exact behavior.
Nick
Jerome Merwick,
So true. I wish we would go back in time to when Popes spoke less and then only in very measured words. Blather Boy is incapable of that.
Jerome Merwick said..."Pope Benedict XVI could have written Laudate Deum."
Pope Francis throughout his Pontificate has very much reiterated Pope Benedict XVI's environmental-related declarations. In turn, Pope Benedict XVI repeated simply Pope Saint John Paul II's environmental-related declarations.
As I had noted yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI, "The Green Pope," was so "extreme" that he called for a "world political authority" to manage the global economy, as well as earth's environment.
Had Pope Francis had done that, his vicious critics would have labeled him a "communist" (well, said folks had done that years ago.)
Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical CARITAS IN VERITATE, #67:
"To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority, as my predecessor Blessed John XXIII indicated some years ago."
I am thankful that Popes Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI, as well as Francis, were/are unrelenting in their concern for Creation.
===========================
Pope Benedict XVI, December 8, 2009 A.D:
"Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change, desertification, the deterioration and loss of productivity in vast agricultural areas, the pollution of rivers and aquifers, the loss of biodiversity, the increase of natural catastrophes and the deforestation of equatorial and tropical regions?"
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Mark Thomas, give it a rest. You can't deliver the goods. Nowhere does Holy, Holy Pope Benedict single out a country, let alone the US. FYI, the US is the most charitable country on the planet. But for the US, millions throughout the World would starve. You are a graduate of Leftwing Loons R Us Academy.
Been reading the comments and an important point may be overlooked: it’s OK for the Pope or anyone on this green earth to criticize the USA. I like it, we need it, we grow stronger for it and we deserve it if we are to earn our place in the world. What is total BS is to misrepresent information so that his criticism seems like carping. I don’t like beating up on Pope Francis and I pray for him everyday, he needs it. MT’s rebuttals and apologetics make the Pope look worse because they seem to document his inconsistencies and hint at hypocrisy and deception. In the case of the synods it is puzzling how he seems upset with their a tions when he allows them to continue. He can shut down religious orders with no problem, why does he allow the synods to continue if he really dislikes their work? Crocodile tears?
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