CBCP pushes community-based stewardship of environment in wake of Laudato Si

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Monday pushed for community-based stewardship of the environment in line with Pope Francis' environmental encyclical Laudato Si'.

 

In a statement dated July 20, the CBCP reminded the faithful that they are mere stewards and not owners of the Earth - and that the core of climate change is justice.

 

"(M)ore direct and immediate action can and should also be taken. Our parishes and Basic Ecclesial Communities can make, as the theme of their collective discernment, situations in the locality that scientists have found to be contributory to deleterious changes in the environment as well as to the disruption of the ecosystem," it said in the statement signed by CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Socrates Villegas.

 

"Mining, incineration and landfills are among the local concerns that immediately come to mind. Here, advocacy of Church communities in behalf of the common good should influence policy makers and translate itself into community action as well," it added.

 

The CBCP also welcomed the holding of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in December.

 

During this gathering, state-parties will endeavor to arrive at legally binding measures addressing the challenge of climate change.

 

"From a broader perspective, the Paris Negotiations will be a welcome attempt to reach a consensus on responsibility for the future of the Earth and for generations yet to come. It is not some futuristic matter with which state representatives and negotiators will be concerned, but with nothing less than social justice," it said.

 

Climate change as social justice issue

 

The CBCP said the climate change action is an issue of social justice, with the social encyclicals of the Church referring to social justice as "that part of justice that guarantees that all social classes and groups are benefited by the resources of earth and of society, and are advantaged equitably from the progress of nations."

 

"Concern with the despoliation of the ecosystem and the deleterious disturbance of that delicate balance of everything that constitutes the human environment has brought home the point that social justice must, of necessity, include our responsibility for future generations," it said.

 

The CBCP said Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si', anticipates the Paris Conference and urges Catholics and Christians to be passionate about the environment and with the concerns that will be taken up at Le Bourget.

 

It said it is a Christian obligation to be concerned with ecology and with climate change "as a direct consequence of the moral concept of stewardship and a concomitant of Christian charity."

 

"All persons of goodwill must train their eyes on Paris, and by collective and communitarian action, make the issues that will be there discussed, the issues and concerns of all, for in truth, caring about climate change and its deleterious and devastating effects on all, but especially on impoverished and struggling nations and communities, is our way of attending to the needs of the least of our brothers and sisters; it is how, today, we must wash each others’ feet," it said.

 

"Laudato Si' teaches us that the core of the matter of climate change is justice," it added.

 

The CBCP also said the notion of the common good also extends to future generations.

 

It said the global economic crises have made "painfully obvious" the detrimental effects of disregarding our common destiny, which cannot exclude those who come after us.

 

"We can no longer speak of sustainable development apart from intergenerational solidarity. Once we start to think about the kind of world we are leaving to future generations, we look at things differently; we realize that the world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others," it said.

 

The CBCP stressed that people "can no longer view reality in a purely utilitarian way, in which efficiency and productivity are entirely geared to our individual benefit."

 

"Intergenerational solidarity is not optional, but rather a basic question of justice, since the world we have received also belongs to those who will follow us," it said.

 

Intergenerational responsibility

 

The CBCP also stressed that the climate change issue is an intergenerational responsibility, with no less than the Supreme Court having characterized concerns of this category as matters of “intergenerational responsibility.”

 

"We are not owners of the Earth. We are its stewards, to keep and cherish and nurture its resources not only for ourselves but for future generations," it said.

 

The CBCP said it has been instructing the faithful on the matter of the environment.

 

It noted that Pope Francis cited one of its letters in Laudato Si'.

 

Meanwhile, the CBCP said bishops have committed to organize symposia and conferences on the issues that will be taken up at the Paris Conference.

 

It said meaningful participation and debate are premised on sound information and adequate knowledge, and "it is part of moral responsibility to inform oneself." —Joel Locsin/ALG, GMA News