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Pope Francis to Filipino youth: Make the earth a beautiful garden


Pope Francis has asked the Filipino youth to care for the environment, saying that its abuse is a betrayal of a noble calling from God.

In a prepared speech that was supposed to be delivered at his meeting with the youth at the University of Sto. Tomas, the Pope compared the environment to a beautiful garden.

He called on young Filipinos to show concern for the environment.

"This is not only because this country, more than many others, is likely to be seriously affected by climate change. You are called to care for creation not only as responsible citizens, but also as followers of Christ!" Pope Francis said.

The Pope said "respect for the environment means more than simply using cleaner products or recycling what we use."

"These are important aspects, but not enough. We need to see, with the eyes of faith, the beauty of God’s saving plan, the link between the natural environment and the dignity of the human person. Men and women are made in the image and likeness of God, and given dominion over creation (cf. Gen 1:26-28)," Pope Francis said.

"As stewards of God’s creation, we are called to make the earth a beautiful garden for the human family. When we destroy our forests, ravage our soil and pollute our seas, we betray that noble calling," he added.

Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican Press Office, said that the Pope prepared the text of his message to the youth in Rome.

"But the pope was informed yesterday about the questions of the young people that he was not prepared to answer. He worked last night to rearrange the speech but he lacked the time to translate it to English so he proposed to speak in Spanish," Lombardi said.
 
According to a conservation organization, Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change.

Many activists believe that the devastation caused by super Typhoon Yolanda was the result of climate change.  —NB, GMA News
 

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