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Jun 9, 2013

Tweeting truth: On human life and the "culture of waste"

Pope Francis tweeted yesterday a short statement that has immense implications.

The words followed his General Audience last week, which he used to make his first substantial addition to the magisterial conversation on ecology. In his audience was this statement that echoes the message of his tweet: 

This "culture of waste" tends to become the common mentality that infects everyone. Human life, the person is no longer perceived as a primary value to be respected and protected, especially if poor or disabled, if not yet useful - such as the unborn child - or no longer needed - such as the elderly. 

All of this continues the words of Benedict XVI at the top of this blog.

There is a link, as Benedict XVI put it, between the ecological ills of our age and the more traditionally considered life issues of abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, and euthanasia. Moreover, this link has something to tell us about how to address both problems.

But in order to address either one, we must first deal with unhealthy divisions that...

Jun 5, 2013

Pope Francis: "Culture of waste" requires a Catholic response

"I would like us all to make a serious commitment to respect and protect creation, to be attentive to every person, to counter the culture of waste and disposable, to promote a culture of solidarity and of encounter. Thank you." Pope Francis. General Audience June 5th, 2013.

The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that in 1960 the United States produced some 88 million tons of municipal waste. In 2010 that number climbed to just under 250 million tons—and it may have been higher had a recession not slowed consumption. This jump reflects an almost 184 percent increase in what Americans throw out even though our population increased by only 60 percent.

This disparate increase has much to do with what we buy, the quantities thereof, its expected use-life, how it is packaged, and how the packaging itself is packaged, wrapped, surrounded with polystyrene, cardboard, and shrink-wrap. Even simple items like lettuce and chewing gum now come in plastic containers that we use ever so briefly and then throw away. While recycling has trimmed the tonnage being trucked to landfills, America is still a nation that consumes and wastes much more than...

Jun 5, 2013

Pope Francis takes on waste

Photo: Flicker/Catholic Church (England and Wales)

Excellent words from Pope Francis at today's weekly general audience. In it he links
ecological and human ills, as have his predecessors. But he is pure Pope Francis in presenting the message. I'll have more analysis in the days to come but for now his words speak for themselves. Read well. There are many gems here.

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! 
Today I want to focus on the issue of the environment, which I have already spoken of on several occasions. Today we also mark World Environment Day, sponsored by the United Nations, which sends a strong reminder of the need to eliminate the waste and disposal of food.
When we talk about the environment, about creation, my thoughts turn to the first pages of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, which states that God placed man and woman on earth to cultivate and care for it (cf. 2:15). And the question...
Jun 1, 2013

Corpus Christi and Sacramentum Caritatis

I have already blogged on this wonderful passage about ecology in Pope Benedict XVI's apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis. But for the Feast of Corpus Christi, it seems appropriate that we ponder these words anew, or for the first time ...

The sanctification of the world and the protection of creation
§92. Finally, to develop a profound eucharistic spirituality that is also capable of significantly affecting the fabric of society, the Christian people, in giving thanks to God through the Eucharist, should be conscious that they do so in the name of all creation, aspiring to the sanctification of the world and working intensely to that end. The Eucharist itself powerfully illuminates human history and the whole cosmos. In this sacramental perspective we learn, day by day, that every ecclesial event is a kind of sign by which God makes himself known and challenges us. The eucharistic form of life can thus help foster a real change in the way we approach history and the world. The liturgy itself teaches us this, when, during...
May 28, 2013

The problem with "housing starts"

There was good news today for the economy: nationwide housing permits were up. But there was bad news for the environment: nationwide housing permits were up.

Here’s some of the story from our restless culture as reported in Investing.com:

The number of building permits issues in the U.S. increased more-than-expected to hit the highest level in five years in April, official data showed Thursday. 
The report also showed that housing starts fell significantly, painting a mixed picture of the U.S.housing sector. 
In a report, the U.S. Census Bureau that the number of building permits issued in April rose 14.3% to a seasonally adjusted 1.017 million, above expectations for a 3.8% increase to 0.973 million units.

The consumption of land for sprawling neighborhoods comes with issues—many, many issues—especially when indicators like “housing starts” and building permits are linked to healthy economies, which means jobs. And so the questions: Must our ecological wellbeing be at odds with our economic? Must we continue to consume resources for more building so that others can...

May 22, 2013

When storms are not statistics

Photo: Flicker/by DVIDSHUB

My United States Senator, democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, made a bit of a national stir this week with a tirade against Republicans and climate change skeptics. In doing so he invoked the good, wounded, and dead people of Oklahoma.

Push back was immediate—and deservedly so. The senator’s spokesperson Seth Larson issued a statement that blamed the remarks on bad timing.

But the senator’s comments were more than an error in timing or bad judgment. They were an example of what we in the environmental advocacy world must never succumb to: Pointing to individual disasters for proof that we’re right and they’re wrong. This is childish, ineffective, and (I must add) not at all Christian. 

While we must defend the weak—and in this case, the weak are all those who can suffer from a changing climate (which is really most of us)—it is wrong to point to this blizzard or that tornado outbreak and link it to climate change.

Again and...

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About the Blog

Catholic Ecology posts my regular column in the Rhode Island Catholic, as well as scientific and theological commentary about the latest eco-news, both within and outside of the Catholic Church. What is contained herein is but one person's attempt to teach and defend the Church's teachings - ecological and otherwise. As such, I offer all contents of this blog for approval of the bishops of the Church. It is my hope that nothing herein will lead anyone astray from truth.