I believe we can truly say that the Climate Crisis has now arrived. The highest temperatures ever recorded, drought, dreadful wildfires, all occurring right across Europe, which is the continent currently experiencing the world’s fastest increase in temperature. Many would say we are getting our just deserts. Even climate deniers are admitting that it’s getting hotter, though they are not convinced it’s due to human action, and want to keep digging for oil and gas.
I often wonder why I’m still insisting on my ‘save the planet’ principles when those around me don’t seem to care. I buy only the things I need, making sure that everything is LOAF (Local, Organic, Animal-friendly and Fairtrade – I think LOEF, Environmentally friendly), walk or travel by public transport, and use as little energy and water as possible. Meanwhile, rockets are blasting into space, privately-owned jets are constantly flying across the world, and the current vogue is buying! Being of a certain age I know I won’t be around to see the full impact of the crisis, and although I am very concerned for my family, particularly the younger children, and worry about how they will manage in the coming times, I feel that until those who have the power actually understand the severity of things, nothing I do will make any difference, except to me.
But then I think about a book that I read as a Lenten study a few years ago called ‘Saying Yes to Life’ by Ruth Valerio, currently a Canon Theologian at Rochester Cathedral, who works tirelessly in the fields of theology, environmentalism and social activism. In it, Valerio writes of a scenario in which she spent time and effort making a beautiful hanging tapestry, and proudly hung it on the wall in her home. She came home one day to find that her children had torn it from the wall, rummaged around trying to pull out certain coloured threads, and trampled it with muddy boots. I’m sure you see the analogy. Valerio asks us to consider how she would have felt in such a situation, and to think of God’s response when God sees the beautiful creation that is our planet being desecrated by the humans who are also created beings.
“God saw all that had been made, and it was very good” (Gen 1:31). God created everything out of love, and God loves everything that is created. Yet humans, who are supposed to be the apex of creation, and should tend the world that was lovingly created by God, are tearing it apart. As Christians, followers of Jesus, the co-creator: The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him. (John 1:2-3). Pope Francis says in Laudato Si’ “It is good for humanity … when we believers better recognise the ecological commitments which stem from our faith.” He also states that “we are called to recognise that other living beings have a value of their own in God’s eyes”, and to reiterate this point quotes the German Bishops’ Conference: “Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection … Each of the various creatures, willed into its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God’s infinite wisdom and goodness. [People] must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things”. Francis also insists “everything is interconnected, and … genuine care for our own lives and our relationship with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others”. Thank you, Pope Francis.
