“The world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing breaking point.” Pope Francis gives this dire warning in his new Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum – “Praise God” issued last year on the feast of St Francis of Assisi, the 4th of October, a follow up to his earlier 2015 encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home.
‘’It is indubitable”, says Pope Francis, “that the impact of climate change will increasingly prejudice the lives and families of many persons.” Pope Francis pulls no punches when he says, “Despite all attempts to deny, conceal, gloss over or relativize the issue, the signs of climate change are here and increasingly evident.” This evidence is seen across our tv screens and in news outlets. Last October in Gippsland, Victoria, we literally had bushfires one day, floods the next. The impacts on the lives of people, animals and agriculture were enormous.
Pope Francis goes on to say, “the mentality of maximum gain at minimal cost, disguised in terms of reasonableness, progress and illusory promises, make impossible any sincere concern for our common home and any real preoccupation about assisting the poor and the needy discarded by society.” What is needed is for all of us to undergo what Pope Francis calls an “ecological conversion”, to change our mindset and to come to the realization that we need to work together to save our planet. Pope Francis makes a heartfelt plea by saying, “every family ought to realize that the future of their children is at stake.”
On the feast of St Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis opened the First Session of the Synodal Assembly held from the 4th to the 29th of October 2023 on the theme “For a Synodal Church. Communion, Participation, Mission”. Upon completion of the First Session, a Synthesis Report titled A Synodal Church in Mission was released by the Vatican. The Report states, “Our Assembly has taken place while wars both old and new have raged in the world, with dramatic consequences that are impacting upon countless victims. The cry of those who are poor resounded among us, of those forced to migrate and of those suffering violence and the devastating consequences of climate change.” “The war between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 7, continues to bring untold destruction and loss of countless innocent lives. When will peace come, we cry.”
The Report reminds us that “the preferential option for the poor is implicit in Christological faith: Jesus, poor and humble, befriended people in poverty, shared a table with them, and denounced the causes of poverty.” “Standing with those who are poor requires engaging with them in caring for our common home: the cry of the earth and the cry of those living in poverty are the same cry. The lack of responses to this cry makes the ecological crisis, and climate change in particular, a threat to the survival of humanity.” “The Church in countries most exposed to the consequences of climate change are keenly aware of the urgent need to change course.” Columban missionaries in Fiji, Pakistan and the Philippines have experienced firsthand the untold destruction of the livelihoods of the poor people they live with because of global warming and the onset of more frequent cyclones and flooding.
In August last year, I visited some of the parishioners of the Columban staffed parish in Raiwaqa, Suva who live in the squatter area close to the sea. They shared with me that when the king tides come their houses are flooded and this occurrence happens more often. Many Australians travel to Fiji to holiday in tourist resorts. Yet, there is a side of Fiji that is hidden from plain sight, those living in abject poverty and suffering the effects of climate change. Poverty is pushing Fijians and other Pacificans to try their luck in Australia taking up arduous jobs in agriculture, aged care and the meat industry where there is a huge shortage of workers.
I invite you to pray for the repose of the soul of Vinita Naidu who passed away last November. Vinita was the Manager of our Columban Mission Centre in Lower Hutt, Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. She was a dedicated and loyal Columban co-worker for over 30 years. Vinita is deeply missed by everyone in our Columban family. May she rest in peace.
Fr Peter O'Neill
Regional Director of Oceania
directoroceania@columban.org.au
Listen to "From the Director - A Synodal Church in mission"
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