Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Ottawa (Agenzia Fides) - The Social Affairs Commission of the Canadian Bishops’ Conference has published a Pastoral Letter entitled, “Our Relationship with the Environment: The Need for Conversion.” As part of the United Nations’ International Year of Planet Earth, the Bishops have published a pastoral letter which calls for a collective consciousness to face critical environmental problems affecting the earth. The Bishops state that Canadians are not sufficiently conscious of the impoverished inheritance they are leaving for the generations to come.
In their letter, the Bishops open with a Biblical vision of creation, whose center is the human being. However, man has broken this harmony with nature and, as a consequence, harmony with all creatures. In this sense, they say, we should remember that the goods of the universe are meant for all and therefore, it is an injustice that some continue to accumulate an excessive amount of goods, while masses of people live in misery and without the bare minimum with which to survive on.
With this in mind, the Social Affairs Commission has launched this appeal in efforts to improve the current situation and reestablish this harmony with nature, above all for the good of future generations. The Bishops say that we need “to look at nature with new eyes. Instead of considering it primarily as a resource to be exploited, we will be more inclined to admire its beauty and grandeur. In its own way, nature will open us to the mystery of Life and its Creator.”
Consequently, the Bishops offer some suggestions, such as: “adjusting our way of life to the planet’s available resources”; freeing ourselves of an “obsession to possess and consume” and instead choosing “joyful austerity” or voluntary simplicity; making personal efforts in favour of the environment. The Bishops insist that “responsibility for restoring a healthy relationship with nature falls on each individual, who must re-examine his or her perceptions about possessions and personal comfort. This will demand greater solidarity and new forms of sharing among all Canadians.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 13/3/2008; righe 26, parole 333)
