Vatican publishes overview of church teaching on environment

Catholic News Service ^ | Aug-21-2002 | Cindy Wooden

[narses]

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Official Catholic teaching on the environment is based on the belief that creation is a gift of God that must be protected, used responsibly and shared equitably, said a new Vatican book.

Under Pope John Paul II the teaching has developed, uniting spirituality with morality and addressing concrete problems, including population growth, access to water, development and the impact of genetic manipulation, said the book, released Aug. 21.

The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace published the book, an overview of church teaching on environmental issues, in preparation for the United Nations' Aug. 26-Sept. 4 World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa.

"From Stockholm to Johannesburg: An Historical Overview of the Concern of the Holy See for the Environment," focused on statements from 1972 to 2002, but also traced the beginnings of modern Catholic moral concern for the environment to the Second Vatican Council.

Written by Sacred Heart of Mary Sister Marjorie Keenan, a semi-retired U.S. official of the council, the book also includes major excerpts on environmental issues from 24 papal or Vatican documents.

Pope John Paul, she wrote, has "never hesitated to make explicit the relationship between a creation-based spirituality and care for the environment that is for all of God's creation."

The pope's teaching on environmental issues presents nature as one of the means by which God reveals himself to humanity; and while it clearly places human beings at the center of concern in evaluating the environmental impact of progress, it stresses "the obligation to care for it in all its splendor and beauty, remembering that it was created for all."

The centrality of the human person, in addition, requires respect for the conscience of each individual. While the Catholic Church urges couples to be responsible in their parenthood, it absolutely opposes any government or international organization's efforts to pressure people to have fewer children than they want or can care for responsibly, the book said.

"The contemplation of the wonders of nature has led Pope John Paul II to address an evermore urgent appeal to all to turn toward creation, to see in it the reflection of the creator and to assure that its fruits are for all," she wrote.

The book incorporated several lists of theological and moral concepts and principles from Catholic teaching on environmental issues, including:

-- "All of creation has a value in its own right.

-- "The goods of the earth are a unique patrimony of all of humanity.

-- "Their distribution must be regulated by justice and accompanied by love.

-- "Nature is a mirror reflecting the covenant of all of creation, centered in the human person, with the creator.

-- "The present high rate of consumption and pollution is not tolerable.

-- "Science and technology have contributed much to progress. However, there are moral limits to their use and applications, among which (is) their effect on the environment.

-- "The present destruction of the environment is only one aspect of a profound moral crisis.

-- "The richer countries must take a serious look at their lifestyle, which is consuming an inordinate share of the goods of the earth.

-- "As regards the protection of the environment, the complex and widely diverse question of population growth is one fact among several to be taken into consideration.

-- "Great care must be taken in any form of genetic manipulation, which must be ruled by ethical norms."

END

[Uri’el-2012]

"never hesitated to make explicit the relationship between a creation-based spirituality and care for the environment that is for all of God's creation."

Would you care to parse this into understandable English ?

Your antiCatholicism is boorish
I don't care what anyone thinks, I love you as a brother!

18 posted on 8/26/02 12:16 PM Mountain by Catholicguy

Col. 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through him.

chuck <truth@Y'shuaHaMashiach>

[berned]

It merely is saying that the environmental resources should be distributed or regulated with justice and love.

Justice and love according to WHOM? Regulated by WHOM?

[A Ruckus of Dogs]

Because there a lot of socialistic stuff in church doctrine( aka the "social justice" teaching).

I have a problem with the "socialistic stuff" only when the church advocates the government doing the re-distributing.

Otherwise, we as individuals, should voluntarily give our time and assets to help the poor uplift themselves.

[A Ruckus of Dogs]

Population growth is not a "problem".

An ever growing population can be and is not ideal. There are very real and physical limits to water tables, fishing stocks, arable land and so forth.

[rmmcdaniell]

Nor in any other, sinkspur. Man's end is not in material wealth, no mater how it's created. The Church is not in the business of endorsing or condemning economic systems as such.

Then tell me why its talking about regulating the distribution of goods and bashing capitalistic countries for consuming an inordinate share? It seems to me that the church consitantly condemns the economic system of capitalism and endorses socialism. So if the church puts itself in the business of endorsing socialism its only reasonable for average folk to try to convince it into endorsing the right one and turn it away from endorsing the system of socialism which produces nothing but grinding poverty for everyone.

[Catholicguy]

The Church is not in the business of endorsing or condemning economic systems as such.

Read "Ethics and the National Economy" by the brilliant German Jesuit Heinrich Pesch. He coined "solidarity" and his economic model is fashioned upon solidarity (yes, the Pope read him as a young man; ergo, the solidarity movement) and subsidiarity. I think the book is about 125 poages. I haven't read it in a few years. But when I did read it, it proved to be an emetic for all the Free Market/Free Trade hogwash I had been forcedfed as an American. (Talk about those who are slaves to the zeitgeist).

"Nazareth or Social Chaos" by Fr. Vincent McNabb (all his books, really) is a good place to start re how a Catholic can think about such questions and problems raised in this piece.

The "Catechism of Perseverance," a great 19th century 4 volume collection by Abbe Gaume has passages in there about the environment that one might think written by a Gore staffer.

We Catholics have magnificent views,ideas,thoughts,and doctrine about our brothers and sisters with which we share the Earth and how an economy must have cetain principles for justice to be met as much as possible. The Catechism is a quick introduction to what we teach about Social Doctrine and opposing what Holy Mother Church has to teach us and opposing what some of her brilliant sons have written in defense of that doctrine with shibboleths that sound cribbed from Ronald Reagan stump speeches is beneath a smart man like you, Sinkspur.

Sinkspur, if you read Pesch, S.J. and the about 125 page book he wrote, you will never sound like Limbaugh again :)

[Catholicguy]

The Catholic Church condemns Socialism. One Pope, Pius IX, as I recall offhand, said,"No one can at the sametime be a socialist and a Catholic"

[Catholicguy]

Does the utopian Marxism in this book reflect the author, the publisher or the entire Corporation ?

Those are your words, brother X. Cite for me anywhere Marx speaks about God's creation and creation-based spirituality.

I love you too , brother. That doesn't mean you are not an antiCatholic bore

Now, prove your assertion this book is Marxist utopianism

[rmmcdaniell]

Why doesn't the Vatican ever stress the importance of free-market systems in making a bigger pie, thus affording more for everybody?

Because "affording more for everybody" is not an absolute good and end in itself?

It would be better to push for "more for everybody" through capitalism then its current position of pushing socialism. Socialism is nothing more than legalized stealing. Legal for secular laws but not for "divine laws". The churches current position puts it in violation of the commandment "thou shalt not steal" by encouraging its flock to vote for politicians who would implement socialistic legislation.

[sinkspur]

...opposing what Holy Mother Church has to teach us and opposing what some of her brilliant sons have written in defense of that doctrine with shibboleths that sound cribbed from Ronald Reagan stump speeches is beneath a smart man like you, Sinkspur.

I don't "oppose" the Church's social teaching; I just think it's naive. Churchmen use this "equitable distribution of wealth" almost as a throwaway line. They don't say that the only way to move wealth from one person to another is on a voluntary basis (as in religious communities or in Christian charity) or at the point of a gun.

I'll take Reagan's economic model of teaching a man to fish over handouts to those who will hunger still.

Sinkspur, if you read Pesch, S.J. and the about 125 page book he wrote, you will never sound like Limbaugh again :)

Pesch never had to worry where his next meal was coming from, did he?

I know what you're trying to say, CG, but free markets and free trade have done more to lift up the impoverished than all the charitable programs of Churches put together.

[madfly]

ping

[Romulus]

John Paul II spent his life condemning and fighting against Marxism.

Because it was a false religion. For the same reason he condemns Western consumerism.

[Carry_Okie]

Sorry, this is not exactly an inspired output. It looks more like it was written by a communist Vatican bureaucrat than it does an inspired application of the Word of God:

-- "All of creation has a value in its own right.

This is the first tenet of Deep Ecology, an atheist and anti-human thesis. How about, all creation ultimately belongs to the Creator? Think about it.

-- "The goods of the earth are a unique patrimony of all of humanity.

This commonizes all resources. That's right, it's communism.

-- "Their distribution must be regulated by justice and accompanied by love.

Who says what constitutes justice? Where does private property fit into this?

-- "Nature is a mirror reflecting the covenant of all of creation, centered in the human person, with the creator.

My recommendation is that he go back and read Leviticus 26. Last time I recall, that was "Creator."

-- "The present high rate of consumption and pollution is not tolerable.

How does he know? Upon what basis is this assertion supported? He is refuting God's promise that to be fruitful and multiply will bring forth a garden in the world.

-- "Science and technology have contributed much to progress. However, there are moral limits to their use and applications, among which (is) their effect on the environment.

Who decides what are to be those limits?

-- "The present destruction of the environment is only one aspect of a profound moral crisis.

He should read The Skeptical Environmentalist. I don't think that this statement is supportable. Such destruction as there is is due to socialising resources into commons, yet that is precisely his preference as stated above.

-- "The richer countries must take a serious look at their lifestyle, which is consuming an inordinate share of the goods of the earth.

Who is to produce the wealth with which to lift the poor? Technology stands to provide the means to do it. That requires capital which is derived from stored wealth. Is he saying that he knows better how it should be done? Has income redistribution worked?

-- "As regards the protection of the environment, the complex and widely diverse question of population growth is one fact among several to be taken into consideration.

As opposed to "be fruitful and multiply?" This is almost blasphemy. I'm sorry, but this shows very little understanding of the mechanics of global carrying capacity.

-- "Great care must be taken in any form of genetic manipulation, which must be ruled by ethical norms."

How about full accountability for error through pooled risk capital and civil liability instead?

[sinkspur]

Because it was a false religion. For the same reason he condemns Western consumerism.

Condemining Western consumerism is one thing; calling for the "equitable distribution of wealth" is socialism. The Church's teaching on "solidarity," while recognizing the equality of all men, comes dangerously close to going one step further and saying that, because we are all men saved by the Death of Jesus, that every man has a right to everything every other man has. And that ignores the fundamental differences in individual men, and in the basic fact that some men will work harder and longer than others will, and thus deserve more.

[Romulus]

It certainly can be and in some places it is a problem.

The problem isn't that there are too many people, but that these people don't have enough to eat or a decent place to live. These are not problems of population as such; after all, human beings are the only engines of wealth production.

Imbalances commonly represented as population problems could more honestly be described as problems of war or political freedom, or private property. It's more accurate to say that the problem is with powerful persons, governments, or idelogies, which have not developed in ways conducive to wealth formation, and have failed to keep up with rudimentary advances in public health that have done so much to retard mortality.

BTW, it helps to distinguish between simple poverty (the state of being poor) and abject poverty (the state of being helpless, hopeless, and dependent). The consumerist economy and socialist welfare states have combined to promote the myth that poverty is an objective evil that must be destroyed. This is an over-simplification of course, put forth to serve the ambitions of the powerful who hope to prosper by presenting themselves as saviors of the poor.

[Romulus]

calling for the "equitable distribution of wealth" is socialism.

C'mon sinkspur. Nobody's shilling for socialism on this thread. You suggested that the Church should be allied with wealth-increasing ideologies, seeming to imply that this was a worthy goal in itself. That's our bone of contention, OK?

[A Ruckus of Dogs]

-- "Great care must be taken in any form of genetic manipulation, which must be ruled by ethical norms."

You replied:

How about full accountability for error through pooled risk capital and civil liability instead?

So if I want to create a person with four heads, that's fine as long as no one sues?

[A Ruckus of Dogs]

To all you folks arguing against the Church's position on redistrubution

Where in the article does the church advocate that it should be done through the force of government??

[berned]

Where in the article does the church advocate that it should be done through the force of government??

Well, I have asked twice now, and I'll ask the $64 thousand dollar question a third time. By WHOM, exactly, are the world's resources to be "distributed by with Justice and love"?

Who does this li'l "document" advocate to take for themselves the authority and mega-power to make those decisions?? The Pope? The Vatican?? -- WHO?????????????

[Carry_Okie]

This was a discussion of environmental, rather than medical ethics. I was referring to genetically modified crops, bacterial pesticides, etc. that are pertinent to that topic.

Your comment was not.