What position does the Church take on environmentalism?

[Holly3278]

Hey everyone. I have always been somewhat of an environmentalist but I am just wondering, what does the Church have to say about the issue? Are there any encyclicals, apostolic letters, or anything on the topic?

 

[Threep]

A Catholic environmentalist is very different to the typical mainstream Marxist environmentalist (some of which promote zoophilia, and think humans are equal to animals, if not worth less. Others believe in the “Gaia earth theory”, and so on).

This is a good summary of Catholic teachings and history on the issue: catholic.com/magazine/articles/should-catholics-be-environmentalists

Also, a list of quotes: catholicecology.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/what-doest-the-catholic-church-say-about-the-environment/

But basically, God created life. Love God, love His creation. Our religion is about life, not death.

 

[Giggly_Giraffe]

IMO actions speak louder than words:

It may be known for sending out iconic smoke signals when a new pope is elected, but the Vatican is actually the world’s only sovereign state that can lay claim to being carbon-neutral. That means that all greenhouse gas emissions from the Holy See are offset through renewable energies and carbon credits. Last summer the city-state’s ancient buildings were outfitted with solar panels intended to be a key source of electricity, and an eco-restoration firm donated enough trees in a Hungarian national park to nullify all carbon emitted from Vatican City, which takes up one-fifth of a square mile.

Both moves were embraced by Pope Benedict XVI, who not only oversees the global church, he serves as the chief administrator of the operation of the Vatican. And in both religious and secular circles Benedict has earned the title of “green pope.” In addition to boosting efforts to make Vatican City more environmentally efficient, he also uses Roman Catholic doctrine to emphasize humanity’s responsibility to care for the planet.

thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/04/16/the-green-pope.html

Or what is said can be read here too (which is important too): catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope_benedicts_environmentalism_concerned_with_the_ecology_of_man_vatican_observer_writes/

 

[JerryZ]

Hey everyone. I have always been somewhat of an environmentalist but I am just wondering, what does the Church have to say about the issue? Are there any encyclicals, apostolic letters, or anything on the topic?

God gave us this planet in stewardship and He will demand how we did when we face Him.
We are to treat the animals that we need as food in a reasonable manner and should limit the amount of pain inflicted when sacrificing them (Not the ritual meaning).

The Church has always taught this it is nothing new. In the Social teachings of the Church you will find info also the Popes have issued enciclicals exorting to respect and care for our environment.

Nothing to do with the crazy left that wants to limit economic development or burn hummer dealerships in Cal.

 

[lynnvinc]

Hey everyone. I have always been somewhat of an environmentalist but I am just wondering, what does the Church have to say about the issue? Are there any encyclicals, apostolic letters, or anything on the topic?

Here are some other websites that may help:

• catholicclimatecovenant.org/
• catholicecology.blogspot.com/
• conservation.catholic.org/ (with some reservations, due to some buy-in to anti-environmentalist conspiracy theories, but a good source for papal writings on the environment)

I would mainly caution against the Catholic (and other) fringe conspiracy theorists spewing out anti-environmentalist conspiracy theories, about how environmentalists are into neopaganism & earth-worshipping, are atheists, out to abort all the children of the world, and want to destroy the economy and take over the world in some totalitarian communist regime (like why would anyone want to take over a world with a destroyed economy ). They point to tiny splinter factions, such as ELF eco-terrorists who burn SUVs, as if they represent the bulk of environmentalists. Let’s face it, there are extremists in all groups and ideologies.

Quite frankly I’ve been an environmentalist for over 50 years since my Girl Scout days and I’ve never ever met any of these types they speak of … tho there could be some lurking around out there – boo! . Most environnmentalists I know are moms (yes, most are women) concerned about their children’s future – that’s the most common profile. And if they are pro-choice (as many non-environmentalists are as well, so it is NOT an environmentalist thing), then I can usually appeal to them and convert them to a pro-life ethic by saying it makes no sense to kill children in order to save the world for the children.

OTOH, it is nearly impossible to convert anti-environmentalists, Catholic or non-, to environmentalism, even if I explain that nearly all the environmental measures save money. We’ve saved many $1000s over the past 43 years of our marriage doing the EC (environmentally correct) things, and there’s so much more we can and should do, which will also save us money. The anti-environmentalists may say that they are all for being good stewards of God’s creation, but they obviously are not doing much in that regard; otherwise they would KNOW that doing most environmental things saves money or has no net cost, and wouldn’t be ranting about how the economy comes first, and we can’t afford to address environmental issues, and that environmental issues don’t even exist, but are falsely promoted by corrupt and evil environmental scientists.

There is also fossil fuel money flowing into orgs supposedly promoting Catholic (and other denomination) “Creation Stewardship” literature (that also tells us global warming is a hoax).

As the Bible says we need to be as harmless as doves and as wise a serpents.

 

[LittleSoldier]

Thank you for those sources, Lynn (and everyone else). I appreciate your help as I am trying to become more aware of environmental problems but hadn’t considered specific Church teaching.

I’ve noticed that in the Pacific Northwest environmentalism has traditionally been looked upon as pure evil. When I put an environmentalist bumper sticker on my car I thought that it would be keyed. It wasn’t. People here seem to be taking a second look at environmentalism now that we have severe problems due to clear-cutting and a certain pipeline to be used for pumping natural gas to Coos Bay, Oregon - no gas has been pumped through it yet but several leaks have been discovered - leaks due to improper (cheap) construction and faulty maintenance of a pipe that is not even in use.

Pro-life and pro-environment issues do go hand-in-hand. I used to belong to the Sierra Club. One day on FB I asked a representative if Sierra Club has an official position on abortion. The representative blew me off but I persisted. Finally h/she said that the Sierra Club supports a woman’s right “to choose.” I then posted that my Sierra Club sticker was coming off my car and that my membership was at an end.

I was attacked by many “environmentalists” who were participating in the thread. Finally someone said “I’m with you. I won’t give another cent to Sierra Club.” That made me feel very good but I was saddened by seeing so many alleged environmentalists supporting abortion.

To bring my post back on-topic I want to say that I posted the above for a reason. The Church emphasizes pro-life issues generally and the end of abortion specifically. Being an environmentalist is being pro-life. It makes no sense to have a healthy environment for babies that are murdered and no sense to have an unhealthy environment for those who are allowed to live.

We are stewards of this earth; responsible for keeping her healthy. By doing this we show our respect for God’s gifts - and that includes respect for His gift of human life.

The Church is pro-life through and through. Environmentalism is pro-life through and through. We need to do whatever we can to stop abortion and to stop pollution and other problems caused by people, either consciously or unconsciously. Although economic issues are important to me, they take a back seat to a healthy environment. But I do realize that to many economic factors are the only ones that count. And so people need to be educated as to how being environmentalists will result in saving money. Even a clothesline saves money. It saves a lot of money! If people see their electric bills drop they will realize that using a clothesline is a good idea even though they may not be able to see the big picture.

NOTE: I’m not referring to radical environmentalism. I was shocked when I found out that some people spike trees.

 

[lynnvinc]

Pro-life and pro-environment issues do go hand-in-hand. I used to belong to the Sierra Club. One day on FB I asked a representative if Sierra Club has an official position on abortion. The representative blew me off but I persisted. Finally h/she said that the Sierra Club supports a woman’s right “to choose.” I then posted that my Sierra Club sticker was coming off my car and that my membership was at an end.

I was attacked by many “environmentalists” who were participating in the thread. Finally someone said “I’m with you. I won’t give another cent to Sierra Club.” That made me feel very good but I was saddened by seeing so many alleged environmentalists supporting abortion…

Next time that happens, just tell them you are against killing children in order to save the world for the children – it doesn’t compute

Pro-choice seems to be more a separate issue than flowing from their environmentalism. There is the population issue, but that most certainly does not require abortion. More like “abstinence makes the heart grow fonder.” I belong to NRDC (which is not really a club like the Sierra Club), and I remember some pro-life woman withdrawing her membership because she had read some article in their magazine (before I joined) that had mentioned something about pro-choice or something. I didn’t leave it, because I’m involved in lots of things – like work, etc – where some people are pro-choice and some are pro-life. It may be good to leave such groups, but it may also be good to stay in and stand firm.

For me, my pro-life stance flows directly from my environmentalism. We used to save the lives of small animals when we were kids, and sometimes newborn rabbits would get washed out in arroyo flash floods, and we’d try to save them (but they always died). They look pretty much like fetuses, and I remember thinking that if we are trying to save them, then how much more precious are human fetuses and babies. That was during the time when abortions were illegal, but still many women were having them, and I always opposed it (many years before I became a Catholic), mostly hearing about it after the fact and feeling sad about it, esp if the woman was related to me. 2 of the most important people in my life were nearly aborted.

People who say they are pro-life, but are anti-environmentalist – I can’t really believe they are really pro-life, that they would not realize that human life requires healthy air, water, food, a viable climate, and other materials from the environment, and that we need to keep such life-supports (God’s creation) in good condition and save some finite resources for future generations. I sort of think they are either fake (using the abortion issue as a political ploy to support some other agenda) or they just haven’t thought things thru much.

I just read yesterday how I.C.E. vehicle pollution causes higher rates of autism, according to a new study. I already knew it contributes to miscarriages and birth defects (not to mention acid rain and global warming, and all their terrible knock-on effects). I’m glad we have chosen over the past 43 years of our marriage to live within one or two miles of work (first with the idea of saving finite resources for future generations), and now we have an electric car (Volt), which we run on 100% wind-powered electricity, which is saving us money, and will be paying off the difference in 6.5 years between it and the cheaper I.C.E. car we were considering.