Those three factors can be quickly discounted.
The people of Iraq are already suffering, the region is perenially unstable, and there is a yawning gulf between Islam and Christianity- principally caused by ideological upheavals amongst Muslims themselves. With the greatest of respect to his Holiness, there's nothing in this message worthy of serious reflection.
That doesn't fit into the script. Church institutions have taken up the LIBERAL banner.
Ecology Getting Religion*** ''Because I confess Christ to be my savior and Lord, because he died to reconcile all things, I can't be hurting what he died to reconcile me to,'' said the Rev. Jim Ball, executive director of the Evangelical Environmental Network in Washington, D.C.
The belief extends across Catholic, evangelical, Protestant, and Jewish groups.
''The concept of stewardship is at the heart of the religious rhetoric of human responsibility,'' said Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. ''A reverence for nature is part of the religious sensibility.''
Also vital is the idea of environmental protection as the kind of social justice that religious institutions have supported for decades.
While these arguments have been around in one form or another for a long time, religious and environmental movements primarily had existed on opposing sides of the political spectrum, with conservatism fueled by people of faith while environmentalism grew out of and helped nourish progressive politics. Only in the past dozen years have religions formally started to address environmental concerns.
In 1989, Pope John Paul II issued a message on ''The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility.'' In 1990, Carl Sagan organized 32 eminent scientists to sign an open letter to the world religious community, calling for their help on issues like global warming.
The National Religious Partnership for the Environment was founded in 1992. Its constituent groups say they now serve 100 million Americans.
The new-style environmentalists gained attention in the early months of Republican control of Congress in 1995, when they successfully fought to preserve the Endangered Species Act after it came under attack from GOP lawmakers. More recently, they have focused on the threat of global warming, and in the meantime getting noticed by the White House.
When the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Christie Whitman, made the case to President Bush in March that the administration should take action on global warming, she cited the growing movement.
''For the first time the world's religious communities have started to engage in this issue,'' Whitman wrote in a memorandum to the president. ''Their solutions vary widely, but the fervor of the focus was clear.''***
National Council of Churches***Stop the War Fast - Celebrate the season of Lent by calling for peace with Iraq and taking personal and community steps to reduce America's dependence on petroleum. In so doing, we seek justice for all people and all of creation.***
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops*** Welcome to the USCCB Environmental Justice Program. We have a variety of resources for you to use in your parish, diocese, school, etc., to foster care and respect for God's creation. Please check out the list below, and feel free to make copies of this information for your group.***
Statement of Cardinal Pio Laghi, Papal Envoy to President George Bush following their meeting at the White House today. [Full Text] I was privileged to have been sent by the Holy Father as his Special Envoy to President George Bush. I assured him of the Holy Father's great esteem and affection for the American people and the United States of America.
The purpose of my visit was to deliver a personal message of the Holy Father to the President regarding the Iraqi crisis, to expound upon the Holy See's position and to report on the various initiatives undertaken by the Holy See to contribute to disarmament and peace in the Middle East.
Out of respect for the President and because of the importance of this moment, I am not in a position to discuss the substance of our conversation, nor am I able to release the text of the personal letter of the Holy Father to the President.
The Holy See is urging those in positions of civil authority to take fully into account all aspects of this crisis. In that regard, the Holy See's position has been two-fold. First, the Iraqi government is obliged to fulfill completely and fully its international obligations regarding human rights and disarmament under the UN resolutions with respect for international norms. Second, these obligations and their fulfillment must continue to be pursued within the framework of the United Nations.
The Holy See maintains that there are still peaceful avenues within the context of the vast patrimony of international law and institutions which exist for that purpose. A decision regarding the use of military force can only be taken within the framework of the United Nations, but always taking into account the grave consequences of such an armed conflict: the suffering of the people of Iraq and those involved in the military operation, a further instability in the region and a new gulf between Islam and Christianity.
I want to emphasize that there is great unity on this grave matter on the part of the Holy See, the Bishops in the United States, and the Church throughout the world.
I told the President that today, on Ash Wednesday, Catholics around the world are following the Pope's request to pray and fast for peace this day. The Holy Father himself continues to pray and hope that all leaders who face difficult decisions will be inspired in their search for peace. [End]
Thom White Wolf Fassett As emeritus General Secretary of the international rights organization of The United Methodist Church, The General Board of Church and Society, Thom White Wolf Fassett brings a rich and varied background of experience now as Superintendent of Finger Lakes South District of The United Methodist Church.
Dr. Fassett has written and published extensively co-authoring Human Rights and Responsibilities in a Divided World (Prague, Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 1996) and Defending Mother Earth, Native American Perspectives on Environmental Justice (New York, Orbis Books, 1996). His numerous articles have appeared in periodicals and scholarly publications and from 1988 until 2000, he was the publisher of Christian Social Action a monthly United Methodist magazine. He has also served as adjunct faculty member of Colgate Rochester Divinity School, Bexley Hall Seminary and Crozer Theological School and has received numerous honors and appears in various international biographical publications. His most recent appointments include serving as a founding member of the Institute for the Study of Harassment of African Americans in Washington, D.C.; Advisory Council, Americans for Humanitarian Trade with Cuba, and advisor to the President's Commission on Race. ***
Evangelical Environmental Network & Creation Care Magazine***EEN is a unique evangelical ministry whose purpose is to "declare the Lordship of Christ over all creation (Col. 1:15-20). EEN was formed because we recognize many "environmental" problems are fundamentally spiritual problems. EEN's flagship publication, Creation Care magazine, provides you with biblically informed and timely articles on topics ranging from how to protect your loved ones against environmental threats to how you can more fully praise the Creator for the wonder of His creation. You can sign up today for a free issue of Creation Care magazine.***
Hazon and the New York Jewish Environmental Bike RideWe're delighted to announce our first Israel Ride - "The Arava Institute Hazon Bike Ride In Israel: Cycling In Solidarity for Peace, Partnership & Environmental Protection", which takes place April 27th to May 2nd 2003.***
The National Religious Partnership for the Environment*** The National Religious Partnership for the Environment is a formal alliance of major faith groups and denominations across the spectrum of Jewish and Christian communities and organizations in the United States. Its four founding partners include: The U.S. Catholic Conference, the National Council of Churches of Christ, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, and the Evangelical Environmental Network.
The Partnership is integrating care for God's creation throughout religious life: theology, worship, social teaching, education, congregational life, and public policy initiative. And we seek to provide inspiration, moral vision, and commitment to social justice for all efforts to protect the natural world and human well-being within it.***
Eco-heretic beset by hate campaign*** The book was published by Cambridge University Press. Last autumn it sent Lomborg on a promotional tour of Britain and America, little realising the reaction that was building up. It began when Lomborg was heckled and booed at a book-signing at Borders bookshop in Oxford. As he was speaking, one of the crowd rushed forward and pushed a cream-laden baked Alaska pie into his face.
Last week the protester, Mark Lynas, an environmentalist campaigning to save the Arctic from the effects of climate change, admitted the attack and said: "Hitting him with a baked Alaska seemed appropriate. Global warming is destroying one of the Earth's last wildernesses and Lomborg is trying to pretend it doesn't matter." Even respectable scientific venues are not safe for Lomborg. When he recently gave a lecture at London's Royal Institution he was protected by four bodyguards, and threats were made against him when he addressed the London School of Economics.
The biggest shock came when Nature, the usually restrained scientific journal, printed a review comparing Lomborg to maverick academics who deny the Holocaust. The reviewers said Lomborg's text "employs the strategy of those who argue that gay men are not dying of Aids, that Jews weren't singled out by the Nazis and so on".***
"Democratic Socialists of America share a vision of a humane international social order based on equitable distribution of resources, meaningful work, gender and racial equality, a healthy environment, sustainable growth, and non-oppressive relationships." The Progressive Challenge 6. GUARANTEE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE - Distribution of more federal funds, especially to poor communities; revisions in trade agreements to allow communities to enact strong environmental and labor laws; and re-targeting federal insurance, subsidies, and loans for community development; promoting the right to a clean environment and replacing subsidies for polluters with subsidies for ecologically sound products and services. We also support a shift to more sustainable agriculture that supports rural communities and a safe food supply.***
Evangelical Environmental Network & Creation Care Magazine***EEN is a unique evangelical ministry whose purpose is to "declare the Lordship of Christ over all creation (Col. 1:15-20). EEN was formed because we recognize many "environmental" problems are fundamentally spiritual problems. EEN's flagship publication, Creation Care magazine, provides you with biblically informed and timely articles on topics ranging from how to protect your loved ones against environmental threats to how you can more fully praise the Creator for the wonder of His creation. You can sign up today for a free issue of Creation Care magazine.***
Hazon and the New York Jewish Environmental Bike RideWe're delighted to announce our first Israel Ride - "The Arava Institute Hazon Bike Ride In Israel: Cycling In Solidarity for Peace, Partnership & Environmental Protection", which takes place April 27th to May 2nd 2003.***
The National Religious Partnership for the Environment*** The National Religious Partnership for the Environment is a formal alliance of major faith groups and denominations across the spectrum of Jewish and Christian communities and organizations in the United States. Its four founding partners include: The U.S. Catholic Conference, the National Council of Churches of Christ, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, and the Evangelical Environmental Network.
The Partnership is integrating care for God's creation throughout religious life: theology, worship, social teaching, education, congregational life, and public policy initiative. And we seek to provide inspiration, moral vision, and commitment to social justice for all efforts to protect the natural world and human well-being within it.***
Eco-heretic beset by hate campaign*** The book was published by Cambridge University Press. Last autumn it sent Lomborg on a promotional tour of Britain and America, little realising the reaction that was building up. It began when Lomborg was heckled and booed at a book-signing at Borders bookshop in Oxford. As he was speaking, one of the crowd rushed forward and pushed a cream-laden baked Alaska pie into his face.
Last week the protester, Mark Lynas, an environmentalist campaigning to save the Arctic from the effects of climate change, admitted the attack and said: "Hitting him with a baked Alaska seemed appropriate. Global warming is destroying one of the Earth's last wildernesses and Lomborg is trying to pretend it doesn't matter." Even respectable scientific venues are not safe for Lomborg. When he recently gave a lecture at London's Royal Institution he was protected by four bodyguards, and threats were made against him when he addressed the London School of Economics.
The biggest shock came when Nature, the usually restrained scientific journal, printed a review comparing Lomborg to maverick academics who deny the Holocaust. The reviewers said Lomborg's text "employs the strategy of those who argue that gay men are not dying of Aids, that Jews weren't singled out by the Nazis and so on".***
"Democratic Socialists of America share a vision of a humane international social order based on equitable distribution of resources, meaningful work, gender and racial equality, a healthy environment, sustainable growth, and non-oppressive relationships."
The Progressive Challenge*** 6. GUARANTEE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE - Distribution of more federal funds, especially to poor communities; revisions in trade agreements to allow communities to enact strong environmental and labor laws; and re-targeting federal insurance, subsidies, and loans for community development; promoting the right to a clean environment and replacing subsidies for polluters with subsidies for ecologically sound products and services. We also support a shift to more sustainable agriculture that supports rural communities and a safe food supply.***
I disagree Byron. There is plenty in it worthy of serious reflection. However all that serious reflection has been and continues to take place. This letter seems to have been written in a vaccuum, which the events of the past several months failed to penetrate.
This Vatican message is more filled with secular European geo-politics than Church morality. And the moral parts of the message have been treated far more seriously and genuinely by the U. S. (and allies) than by any other nation currently spouting off on the topic.