VATICAN: Pope Francis Calls for Renewed Commitment to Care for Creation
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Celebrating 50th anniversary of Earth Day Wednesday, April 22, an annual event meant to manifest protection of environment, Pope Francis has called for re-commitment to care for creation for future sustainability.
“This is an opportunity for renewing our commitment to caring for our common home. We are called to cherish creation and all life within it, for the natural world is the “Gospel of Creation,” not a set of resources for us to exploit,” Pope Francis said during the general audience.
“To overcome our selfishness and rediscover a sacred respect for the earth, we need a new way of seeing an ecological conversion for the earth is also God’s home and we stand on holy ground,” the Pope said adding, “We have no future if we destroy the very environment that sustains us.”
He reminded the people of a team spirit as the way forward to help overcome environmental challenges for unity is strength.
“We can only be authentic custodians of the earth and overcome the challenges before us such as the Coronavirus pandemic by acting in solidarity with one another,” he said.
“We live in this common home as one human family in biodiversity with God’s other creatures,” he continued as he called on humanity to care for and respect creation and “to offer love and compassion to our brothers and sisters, especially the most vulnerable among us.”
Commenting about the current global situation of COVID-19 which requires unity of all to overcome he said, “As the tragic Coronavirus pandemic has taught us, we can overcome global challenges only by showing solidarity with one another and embracing the most vulnerable in our midst.”
Quoting the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ (no. 164) which he issued in 2015, the Pontiff said, “We are one interdependent human family and so need a common response to the threats we face.”
He then reminded the people that “We have failed to care for the Earth, our garden-home; we have failed to care for our brothers and sisters because of our selfishness, we have failed in our responsibility to be guardians and stewards of the Earth.”
The Earth day was first celebrated in 1970. Now, it includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries.
