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Cardinal Tagle on Laudato Sí: God owns the Earth, we are only stewards
"The Earth is a gift, not a possession. God owns the Earth; we are only stewards."
With these words, Manila Archbishop Cardinal Luis Tagle reaffirmed Pope Francis' hard stand against human-induced climate change in a message that sent ripples across a country that is both predominantly Catholic and frequently hit by climate change-related disasters.
Fundamental to the Pope's vision, according to Tagle, is "integral ecology" and the marriage of ethics with scientific and technological development.
Tagle was the keynote speaker at a public forum on Laudato Sí, the Papal Encyclical on Care for our Common Home, held in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Manila Observatory at the Ateneo de Manila University on Thursday morning, August 13.
Science, religion, and throwaway culture
During his speech, Tagle said that our "throwaway culture" is at the root of many of our problems today. In this culture, he said, we throw away anything we think we no longer need—including "throwing away" people.
He also pointed out that our "growth model" is hardly inclusive and rarely leads to integral growth in which the needs of both the people and the environment are balanced.
One human cause of our current ecological crisis is our "misguided anthrocentrism," he said, where people believe that we own the environment instead of being stewards of it.
"Science and religion should work together," said Cardinal Tagle, in order to address the ecological challenges we face.
"Science, at its best, can help us listen to the cry of the Earth."
"Science, at its best, can help us listen to the cry of the Earth."
"The encyclical combines the cry of the poor with the cry of the Earth," he concluded.
Tagle's speech echoed his earlier statements on climate change given in the wake of Pope Francis' pronouncement.
In a letter Tagle sent to the Caritas Federation in July, he urged the faithful to carefully assess their lifestyles and "replace consumption with a sense of sacrifice, greed with generosity and wastefulness with a spirit of sharing."
"In June, Pope Francis called each of us to undertake a mission to save the planet, our relationship with God and our human family. He gave us a reminder to 'take the trash out of our lives' and clean it up out of everyone else’s so we can live as one human family in dignity and in unity," he said.
Impact on the Philippines
Pope Francis delivered his groundbreaking encyclical on June 18, urging the Catholic Church to directly address issues of climate change.
With over 1.2 billion adherents—roughly 18% of the world's population—the Catholic Church's stand on environmental issues weighs significantly on collective actions thereon.
"(The Laudato Sí) ranks second only to the highest-ranking document currently published by any sitting pope," explained former Philippine Climate Change Commissioner Yeb M. Saño.
"(It) is a very authoritative document and can be seen as the basis of actions that the Church will take regarding the specific issues dealt with by the letter."
The Pope's words hold special significance in the Philippines, one of the world's most environmentally vulnerable countries and home to over 80 million Catholics—roughly 80% of the entire population.
"(Pope Francis') words have become a powerful indictment of the kind of economic world order that has exploited the poor and the Earth. The same economic order pervades in the Philippines and if we are to be true to our adulation of Francis, we must not stop at merely wearing shirts with his face or flocking to Luneta to catch a glimpse; we must heed his call for change," Saño said. — TJD/JJ, GMA News
