Any green Catholics here?

[EphelDuath]

(At the risk of sounding like a hippy… )

I think the earth is an excellent gift given to us by God and I cherish the beauty of it. I mourn for the unneeded destruction to our planet and pray that it may cease.

I found an excellent website about Catholic conservationism. It includes an excellent photo of Pope John Paul II in the wilderness with his rosary and several Bible passages about the earth.

 

[BayernAnhaenger]

(At the risk of sounding like a hippy… )

I think the earth is an excellent gift given to us by God and I cherish the beauty of it. I mourn for the unneeded destruction to our planet and pray that it may cease.

I found an excellent website about Catholic conservationism. It includes an excellent photo of Pope John Paul II in the wilderness with his rosary and several Bible passages about the earth.

I wouldn’t say I’m a hippy or environmentalist, but I do do my best to not overconsume and be wasteful.

That counts for something?

 

[sawman]

(At the risk of sounding like a hippy… )

I think the earth is an excellent gift given to us by God and I cherish the beauty of it. I mourn for the unneeded destruction to our planet and pray that it may cease.

I found an excellent website about Catholic conservationism. It includes an excellent photo of Pope John Paul II in the wilderness with his rosary and several Bible passages about the earth.

Dear EphelDuath, I agree that there is a sound responsible Catholic way to be a responsible person in the way we interact with our environment.I think that most of the environmental movements are firstly political movements and are aligned with means and ends that are clearly enimical to Catholicism.I think that as a Catholic we have to be wise as serpents specialy when it comes to advocating and or participating in radical political movements.Much of the “Green” movement is radically anti-God and enimical to Christianity.The roots of the Greens are very deeply entwined with communism and radical New Age Paganism.I generaly find that most of what Green outfits are proposing is very anti- human.Be careful!

 

[Miserissima]

Perhaps this is also falls under the heading on “social justice” but sacred stewardship of all God has blessed us with is an act of mindfulness – and acting on it can be a sacrifice in and of itself.

Volunteering for your community local litter pick up days is a good example (Boy Scouts and other civic organizations do this). Or, if you pick up litter from your own street, this can be an act of humility and charity as well.

Waste not, want not: my Irish-Catholic Yankee grandmother would say, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” So please look into Freecycle organizations in your area. Though not a Christian organization, you really can make a difference by passing on unwanted items rather than filling our landfills with something someone else can readily use.

If I may quote from the website you linked (emphasis mine):

The mission of the Catholic Conservation Center is to promote ecology, environmental justice, and the stewardship of Creation in light of sacred Scripture and living Tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. Our website features a collection of writings about ecology and the environment from a variety of Catholic sources

.

Watch out for those “variety of Catholic sources” which range from the blending of new-age ideals to quotes from the Church Fathers.

The Catholic attitude toward nature, in a word, is stewardship. Stewardship is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care. From the first pages of the Bible, we are instructed to “cultivate and care for” God’s Creation (Genesis 2:15). Created in the image and likeness of God, we are granted dominion over the rest of Creation (Genesis 1:26-28). Dominion means that we have sovereignty over and responsibility for the well-being of God’s Creation. We resemble God primarily because of this dominion; hence, our dominion must also resemble God’s dominion. We must cultivate and care for the Earth as God does, with love and wisdom. We are called to exercise dominion in ways that allow God’s original Creative Act to be further unfolded. And because we resemble the Creator, we are also in a sense co-creators with Him.

I would be a little wary, though, of the notions on the website that we are “little gods” in our stewardship. I agree that we take part in God’s plan of creation through procreation, but I don’t know much about the Action Institute some of this website’s pages link to.

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

I believe that all people are called to be global stewards, taking caring of our planet and it resources wisely, preserving them in good condition for those who follow us.

I do not believe in the use of violence to achieve this, nor discriminating against human beings in favor of the environment.

 

[catherineajt]

I believe that all people are called to be global stewards, taking caring of our planet and it resources wisely, preserving them in good condition for those who follow us.

I do not believe in the use of violence to achieve this, nor discriminating against human beings in favor of the environment.

Parking here. Beyond recycling, of course, and using less energy (my husband is a big fan of those new compact flourescent lights, which really do work, by the way), we bought a very fuel-efficient car, a Yaris. While it seems impractical because we have three kids, which you can’t fit in there, it’s a great commuter car for my husband, as well as a good “road trip” car if only a couple of us are going somewhere. For trips where we have the whole family, we use the sedan.

Another aspect of conservationism which is not usually touched on is what you don’t do–for instance, avoiding buying new goods unless absolutely neccessary. When i had a lot more time on my hands (pre-kid) I did most or all my household item/clothing shopping at thrift stores. I need to get back to doing that when I can. Reducing our dependence on newly-manufactured goods is not only good spiritual practice but good for conserving resources.

 

[Miserissima]

When i had a lot more time on my hands (pre-kid) I did most or all my household item/clothing shopping at thrift stores. I need to get back to doing that when I can. Reducing our dependence on newly-manufactured goods is not only good spiritual practice but good for conserving resources.

YES! I love going to thrift stores! :extrahappy:There are at least four within 10 miles of my house and what bargains are found there!

 

[sawman]

YES! I love going to thrift stores! :extrahappy:There are at least four within 10 miles of my house and what bargains are found there!

My good and diligent wife has kept us in clothing and furniture for our entire married life.She is a champion shopper! Thrift stores are her forte. 34 years and still going strong! I thank God for her abilities and inclination to be thrifty.I am a lucky man.

 

[RHisComingHome]

I guess you could say I’m “going green.” I’ve been concerned for a long time about the amount of waste we produce so I’ve been making changes slowly. I buy organic food whenever I can (www.maryjanesfarm.org has THE MOST amazing organic food!) I’m trying to reduce the amount of aluminum and plastic containers we bring into our home. If I could afford it, I’d be VERY green!