Climate Challenge
Turn back with all your heart – Lent is the time to look deep into ourselves. Common Lenten words are conversion, turning-back, self-discipline, penance: all parts of renewing our faith. This culminates with a new commitment to Jesus Christ, the Easter light to the nations. Pope Benedict XIV, speaking on St Augustine at an Audience January 2008, said,
Prophecy and Climate Change – Lent is the time to listen to the prophets. As the framework for his book A Moral Climate: the ethics of global warming (Orbis Books, 2007) Scottish cleric Michael S. Northcott weaves together the prophetic tradition and scientific findings on human induced climate change. Just as the prophets pointed to the consequences of tuning away from Yahweh Northcott explores the consequences as climate change kicks in: the result of distorted human ideas about the universe, society, politics and economics - ’moral myopia’.
Earth as Prophet - In our times Earth has shown itself as loudly prophetic. Hurricane Katrina was prophetic in showing up the consequences for New Orleans of human arrogance – local arrogance in clearing the mangroves and cutting canals thus opening the city to disaster; global arrogance in increasing greenhouse gases that heat shallow waters like the Gulf of Mexico thus increasing the intensity of hurricanes. Other voices of prophet Earth are the melting of ice in the Arctic waters; the rapid decline of glaciers in the Himalayas and Andes which feed rivers that support billions of people. Earth’s prophetic messages are a source of prayerful reflection inviting us to resituate ourselves in relation to other people and to Earth’s rhythms.
Conversion and Care for Earth – When Pope John Paul II called for ‘ecological conversion’ he asserted the positive role of Earth in the Christian Story – salvation, revelation, incarnation, sacramental signs, mysticism and the promise of life to the full. Large sections of the Catholic Catechism (1992) and Catholic Social Teaching (2002) name environmental care as integral to faith. Pope Benedict XVI in his Peace Day Message 2007,
Before it is too late, it is necessary to make courageous decisions that reflects knowing how to re-create a strong alliance between humanity and the earth. In 2008 he named Earth the human family’s common home.
Compassion and the Climate Challenge – The human face of suffering extends from the Australian farmers and their families and communities to our Pacific neighbors whose homes are literally being swamped under rising seas. They need our compassion. A new twist is compassion for Earth itself. It is being precipitously pushed into a new stage of evolution and loosing millions of its species.
in a profound sense the earth is suffering (Hos 4:3) and the greenhouse effect has now reached crisis proportions as a consequence of industrial growth, massive urban concentrations and vastly increased energy needs … He continued, no peaceful society can afford to neglect either respect for life or the fact that there is an integrity to creation. Pope John Paul II, 1990 Peace Day Message
Australian bishops and Climate Change - The Australian Catholic bishops established Catholic Earthcare Australia (CEA) in 2002 as their agency on environmental matters. In November 2005 CEA ran a three day Conference on Climate Change and presented a position paper calling for a pastoral response to a sign of the times. More than 300 international and local scientists, theologians, activists, lay and clerical, secular and ecumenical gathered (papers www.catholicearthcareoz.net ).
Principles for Climate Action – Draw on existing church social teaching principles:
- the right of all people to a safe environment,
- consider the common good,
- dismantle the social structures of sin,
- authentic not super development,
- the precautionary principle,
- preferential option for the poor
- the rights of future generations,
- fair distribution of climate abatement costs,
- solidarity with developing countries by sharing modern technology,
- welcome environmental refugees, and
- preserving earth community’s bio-diversity.
Climate language and Lenten language - The language of ecology resonates easily with Catholics - community, mutuality, inter-connectedness. Learning the language of climate change brings about a change in oneself. Changing language from jungle to rainforest and from swamps to wetlands has helped many people become environmentally aware. Learning the language of climate systems, levels of carbon emissions, carbon sinks and the like make it easy to speak about sustainable energy sources and to explore options.
Lies and Climate Change - Satan as the fathers of all lies is one of the strongest condemnations given by Jesus in the Gospels. Climate-sceptics variously deny the science, impute base motives to those who speak out and offer spurious solutions. Confusion and inaction is their desired outcome. Sadly, they deliberately play on Christian compassion to peddle lies – carbon taxes rob the poor; promote ‘scientific’ agriculture in developing nations. Sceptics use false religious sounding arguments – puny humans cannot alter God’s providence and cause climate change. Lent is about truth telling.
RCIA and Climate Conversion - A great gift of the Second Vatican Council was the revival of the Adult Catechumenate (RCIA) and it became the touch stone for church life in many countries like South Korea. RCIA catechesis listens with spiritual sensitivity to where ‘inquirers’ to the program are coming from in their lives. Many will be concerned about climate change. Addressing their climate concerns can become both an integral part of the inquirers journey of conversion and help the community’s conversion to new understanding.
Listening mission dialogue - The mission task of Catholics in responding to human induced climate change begins with prayers for guidance from the Holy Spirit, the prime agent of mission. And dialogue is the way to do mission wrote Popes Paul IV and John Paul II. While Catholics witness to their tradition, they listen to the Holy Spirit speaking through world events and people’s movements. Climate change and the environmental movement are parts of this speaking. This prompts Lenten prayer asking for a listening and discerning heart, and for the humility to learn and make cooperative responses to Earth/ the Holy Spirit’s climate agenda.
Penance and the Climate Challenge - Knowledge about the causes and effects of climate change can be channeled into a revamp of the traditional Friday penance. Several English Anglican bishops have suggested Christians go on a carbon diet - a practical discipline relevant to a pressing modern issue. People could say to themselves ‘enough’ as they limited their use of fossil based fuels. At an inter-faith level, such a revamp would resonate with Friday as the primary prayer day for Muslims, creating interfaith solidarity in facing climate change.
Easter and the Climate Challenge – Lent is an opportune time to re-situate ourselves on earth. In an age of frantic pace, the Christian tradition of pilgrimage might remind us to slow down and simplify our baggage; humbly remember that we are but pilgrims on earth. Christ is our Easter Light.
The ecological conversion spoken of by Pope John Paul II will require courage to empty ourselves as God chose to do by taking flesh in Christ Jesus. Believers can choose to change life styles and reconnect with nature's rhythms as one act of self transformation. Christian communities can become prophetic microcosms of action and light in facing the climate challenge.
Climate Challenge Prayer
God, Creator and Sustainer,
free us from ignorance about your gift of Earth.
Inspire us to act together in respect for your gift and change our ways as we
relate to Earth’s rhythms with humility.
May we welcome the truth when scientists speak of climate change, and
reject false pathways designed to confuse.
At this point in history, help us to urge our politicians to take moral decisions and urgent action in negotiating sustainable living.
Ground all our thoughts in your revealing Scriptures and the wisdom of holy women and men who have gone before us to help build the
new creation as followers of your Cosmic Son.
Give us a discerning spirit to work with the ecological and the human,
the social and the economic realities of this world, and instill in us a spirit of respect and compassion able to imagine pathways of harmony. Amen.
Prepared by Fr Charles Rue
Coordinator Columban JPIC Australia
charlesrue.cmi@columban.org.au
02 9352 8000
c/o ACU, Locked Bag 2002
STRATHFIELD NSW 2135
