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Stewardship of Creation:And then God saw that it was good!-- for St. Vincent's Parish Bulletin by: Dennis Wells If you decide to look thru the various documents of Catholic Social Teaching for the issue, "Stewardship of Creation" don't go looking too far. It has been only recently that this particular theme has been given much attention. In fact, some of the recent documents have had to undue some perceptions that were drawn from earlier documents. Even though this theme of environmental stewardship has not received much attention over the years, the U.S. Bishops have included it in their list of themes in Catholic social teaching because of its growing importance in our own time. In decades past, both the Church and the industrialized world have presumed humankind's mastery of creation and this has lead to a general practice of exploitation of the resources of the earth. A closer look at the book of Genesis reveals a different model: we recognize God, our Creator, as Master of the Universe. The type of mastery displayed by our Creator is one of care and cultivation. If we are to presume mastery over the earth, we too should care for and cultivate God’s creation (Gen 2:15). Notice that the world and its creatures still belong to God and not to humans! We see in Genesis the earth's rebellion against humankind after "The Fall" in the Garden. John Paul II tells us in his 1990 letter for the World Day of Peace that when we turn our back on the Creator, we provoke a disorder with the rest of creation, "If man (sic) is not at peace with God, then the earth itself cannot be at peace." (par. 5) Our relationship with creation depends on a mature, intimate relationship with our Creator. Since we continue to participate in the creative work of God, we must strive to be one with the will of God. Again, we struggle with the issues of "private property" and the "universal destination of goods". If I live next to a river and I dump toxins into the water, then those who live downstream on that same river will suffer. My right to private property is real but is not absolute – it is held under a social mortgage, I have social obligations. When I exploit the natural resources of the earth beyond my own need for survival, when I fail to participate in efforts to recycle and to renew, when I deposit or release substances that will ultimately harm others-- it is then that I engage in a form of "substance abuse" that is detrimental not only to me but to all of God's creation. We have noted before that the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching is the principle of human dignity, a relational dignity that has its source in our Creator. We respect and honor our own dignity and the dignity of others when we care for God's world in a way that continues the creative activity of God. The principle of the preferential option for the poor comes into play here as well because the depletion of natural resources brings hardship first and foremost to the poor– the wealthy (an elite minority) can still afford to consume the shrinking available resources (the Great Famine in Ireland being a good example). In Renewing the Earth, the U.S. Bishops tell us, “a just and sustainable society and world are not an optional ideal, but a moral and practical necessity.”
____________________________________________________________________________________ Index, Catholic Social Teaching: Overview; 1)Human life & dignity, 2)Call to family, community/ participation, 3)Rights/Responsibilities, 4)Option for the poor/vulnerable, 5)Dignity of human labor, 6)Solidarity, 7)Stewardship of Creation; Summary: Catholic Social Teaching Look here for more links on Catholic Social Teaching |
Parish Mission Statement We, the people of St. Vincent's Parish in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri, are committed to following Christ, evangelizer of the poor. We do this through: |