The Position of the Catholic Church on the Environment



"Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God's infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things which would be in contempt of the Creator and would bring disastrous consequences for human beings and their environment" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 399).



Because God created the earth, all of nature is a reflection of God. God said that the earth was good and therefore it must be, and because of this, the basic teaching of Catholic Church based on the Chatechism, indirectly tells us that we are obligated to respect and protect the environment. This means that we should avoid needless pollution of the earth, for example, throwing trash on the ground, not recycling, or needless wasting of gasoline by way of the cars we drive.


"The development of technology and the development of contemporary civilization, which is marked by the ascendancy of technology, demand a proportional development of morals and ethics."
-Pope John Paul II


In the twentieth century Pope John Paul II has spoken out more than once on the issue of the environment. He has made authoritative statements on the importance of ecological concern as a necessary part of Catholic social teaching ever since in 1979 in his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis(see sections 15 and 16). More recently in 1988 the Pope expanded on these ideas and came out against the way we treat the environment in the modern world in his encyclical, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, and again in 1990 in his famous message on the World Day of Peace on January 1st.



In all of these documents, the pope asks stresses that it is crucial that we start taking more active concern for the apparent deterioration of our environment.He urged that the new environmental awareness, "rather than being downplayed, ought to be encouraged to develop into concrete programs and initiatives." He says that the root of this ecological problem is an issue of morality involving the lack of respect for life evident in many patterns of environmental pollution. Pope John Paul II continues saying, must do something to stop it on an international level and also, of equal importance, on an individual level as well.

"There is an order in the universe that must be respected, and... the human person endowed with the capability of choosing freely, has a grave responsibility to preserve this order for the well-being of future generations."
-Pope John Paul II



Good Links

Catholic Teaching and Ecology

Ecology by Stratford Caldecott

A Catholic Perspective on the Environment

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