URGENT CARE
This year’s Season of Care for Creation, which began on 1 September, will conclude on Wednesday 4 October, the feast of St Francis of Assisi. For a number of reasons, Jorge Bergoglio took that name, becoming Pope Francis. As he said: “For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation; these days we do not have a very good relationship with creation, do we?”
Has that relationship improved in the last ten years? There are plenty of reasons to be pessimistic. Temperatures are clearly increasing across the planet, with devastating consequences in heatwaves, wildfires, and floods. I sometimes wonder whether the will is there to do anything about it. In this country, three weeks ago an opinion poll was reported. In summary, for many respondents it came to ‘yeah, climate change is a thing, but if dealing with it means any changes in my lifestyle… forget it’. Faced with this, many of those aspiring to elected office seem unwilling to show leadership.
The Hebrew scriptures often speak of a garden, but the whole point is that the garden depends on people living in right relationship with God, with each other, and with the earth. In that tradition, John the Baptist did not mince his words. Look, you people, he says, you need a fundamental change – Metanoia (‘repent’ is a loose translation: it might be, do a 180-degree turn). You just cannot go on like this.
And yet, as Pope Francis said in Laudato Si’, there are positive examples of rivers and wetlands and forests being restored, of work on green energy, on improving public transport. Near to us there are the ecological treasures of Zealandia and Ōtari-Wilton. As the pope says, ‘men and women are still capable of intervening positively. For all our limitations, gestures of generosity, solidarity and care cannot but well up within us, since we were made for love’ (para. 58).
Francis has announced that on 4 October he will ‘publish an Exhortation, a second Laudato Si’. Let us join our Christian brothers and sisters in the commitment to care for Creation as a sacred gift from the Creator. It is necessary to stand with the victims of environmental and climate injustice, striving to put an end to the senseless war on our common home, which is a terrible world war. I urge all of you to work and pray for it to abound with life once again’. This Exhortation will be worth waiting for.
Jim McAloon
