Oil Spill and Social Justice

As the oil well continues to pollute the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it may be time to look back on this and other matters of environmental justice. In November 1991, the US bishops said the following in their pastoral statement, Renewing the Earth: "…[H]umans, made in the image and likeness of God, are called in a special way to 'cultivate and care for it (Earth)' (Genesis 2:15). Men and women, therefore, bear a unique responsibility under God: to safeguard the created world and by their creative labor even to enhance it. Safeguarding creation requires us to live responsibly within it, rather than manage creation as though we are outside it. The human family is charged with preserving the beauty, diversity, and integrity of nature, as well as with fostering its productivity." Thus, our faith teaches us that such environmental disasters are contrary to God's will for us.
       For more on Renewing the Earth, go to www.usccb.org/sdwp/ejp/bishopsstatement.shtml.
       Also, if you'd like to donate to help those who are most affected by the spill (fisherman and their families), Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans is taking donations on their web site. Go to www.ccano.org and click the link on the right side of the page. (By the way, British Petroleum has contributed $1 million to help in Catholic Charities' efforts; however, much more is needed.)
Copyright © 2010, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins. (http://bit.ly/16p8ws)
 

Buying Organic & Social Justice

More and more products are starting to sport an organic label — and it's going well beyond just food. In most areas, we are seeing an increase in the number of cotton products (towels, t-shirts, bed linens, etc.), personal care products (soaps and lotions), and even candles that are labeled as organic. Thus, buying organic products isn't just about putting healthier things in our mouths (although that may be one benefit). 
       Buying organic is more about a means of production that is more respectful to the earth's environment. Products that are organically grown use farming techniques which avoids the use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and weed killers. This in turn results in healthier, more productive soil for the future, and water supplies that are not contaminated with chemical runoff.
       For more information about the benefits of organic products, go to www.organic.org.
Copyright © 2009, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins.
  

The Natural Environment & Social Justice

Pope Benedict's latest encyclical (Caritas in veritate) is focused on issues of social justice in our time. In that encyclical, the pope clearly connects environmental issues to social justice. He states:

"The environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole... In nature, the believer recognizes the wonderful result of God's creative activity, which we may use responsibly to satisfy our legitimate needs, material or otherwise, while respecting the intrinsic balance of creation. If this vision is lost, we end up either considering nature an untouchable taboo or, on the contrary, abusing it. Neither attitude is consonant with the Christian vision of nature as the fruit of God's creation. Nature expresses a design of love and truth. It is prior to us, and it has been given to us by God as the setting for our life. Nature speaks to us of the Creator (cf. Rom 1:20) and his love for humanity... Reducing nature merely to a collection of contingent data ends up doing violence to the environment and even encouraging activity that fails to respect human nature itself."*

For more information, go to www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/index.htm and click on "Encyclicals" and then on "Caritas in veritate."
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* Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in veritate, no. 48.
Copyright © 2009, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins.