“Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.”
These telling words of St. Francis of Assisi are from his famous “Canticle of the Creatures.” Composed in 1224, eight centuries before talk of climate change and saving the environment, this prayer by the patron saint of ecology recognized the importance of the aina — praising God for all his creatures. In it, he coined the names “Brother Sun, Sister Moon” to illuminate his theology of treating all of God’s creations like our own family.
As the world is introduced this week to Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment, we want the next few columns reflecting on this topic.
The encyclical will be titled “Praised Be,” the first words of St. Francis’s song.
The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace headed by African Cardinal Peter Turkson was integrally involved in the formulation of the encyclical. Jesuit Father Michael Czerny, who works with Cardinal Turkson, shared his thoughts about the encyclical with the Office for Social Ministry. Pope Francis is expected to echo the beliefs of his namesake and his predecessors.
In the early 1990s, Pope John Paul II spoke about preserving the environment:
“People are rightly worried — though much less than they should be — about preserving the natural habitats of the various animal species threatened with extinction, because they realize that each of these species makes its particular contribution to the balance of nature in general.”
He went further:
“In addition to the irrational destruction of the natural environment, we must also mention the more serious destruction of the human environment … Too little effort is made to safeguard the moral conditions for an authentic ‘human ecology.’”
Pope Benedict XVI also emphasized the link “between natural ecology, or respect for nature, and human ecology.”
“Experience shows that disregard for the environment always harms human coexistence, and vice versa,” he said.
Pope Benedict’s environmental teaching consistently keeps the human within nature (not opposed to it) and acknowledges nature as the work and gift of the Creator.
In his first Easter message, Pope Francis wished harmony to a world torn apart by “the iniquitous exploitation of natural resources! Peace to this our earth! May the risen Jesus … make us responsible guardians of creation.”
Pope Francis has spoken or written on this topic at least 25 times as pope.
His new encyclical will help us deepen the bonds of fraternity and solidarity with our fellow inhabitants and future generations; bring a wisdom to our partial and fragmented knowledge of ecology; and motivate us to act with commitment in our cities and towns, in our families and personal lives, with political, social and economic responsibility, both nationally and internationally.
We invite all to reflect on what Pope Francis, who has called us to work for One Ohana: Food for All, also now calls us to “malama the aina.” To view videos illustrating the One Ohana: Food for All ministry, go to www.officeforsocialministry.org.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
