Challenge and hope seen in Pope Francis’ encyclical

“Praised be” – challenge and hope seen in Pope Francis’ encyclical

Pope Francis gives both challenge and hope to the world in his latest encyclicalLaudato Si’ (Praised Be), says Caritas Director Julianne Hickey. “We welcome and accept the wero (challenge) he gives to all of us to take urgent and radical action to protect our planet and its people.”

Pope Francis addresses his letter beyond Church boundaries to all people, seeking dialogue and reminding us of our shared responsibility for safeguarding our common home, “so all can live in dignity, especially mindful of future generations and today’s poor, ‘whose life on this earth is brief and who cannot keep on waiting’ ”.

Mrs Hickey says Pope Francis hasn’t flinched from acknowledging the immensity and urgency of responding to environmental degradation faced by many people, especially the poorest. “We are witnesses to the experience of our partners, especially in the Pacific – people facing coastal erosion and flooding of their lands, people being forced to move from islands where their culture has developed and flourished, and those facing increasingly powerful weather-related disasters such as cyclone Pam.”

But Mrs Hickey says Pope Francis also gives us hope. “He reminds us to look to the real purpose of our life on earth, saying it is not too late, and we still have the ability to work together in building our common home.”

Pope Francis highlights the lack of information and awareness of environmental problems which affect the poorest and most excluded. “In our region we hear this first hand through listening to grassroots voices in Oceania,” says Mrs Hickey.

Caritas released a first report Small yet strong: Voices from Oceania on the environment on St Francis Day 2014 (4 October). “On St Francis Day this year we will be sharing deeper analysis of communities’ experience of environmental issues in Oceania,” says Mrs Hickey.

The encyclical is critical of international efforts so far in addressing climate change, she says. “Pope Francis calls for bold solutions that look beyond national interests or short term political cycles”. He recognises a greater responsibility on the part of wealthier and more powerful countries whose development has already benefitted from use of fossil fuels and natural resources.

“Caritas welcome the challenge he has thrown in questioning market-based, technical solutions such as carbon credits, which he warns may lead to new forms of speculation and permit maintaining the excessive consumption of many societies.” Mrs Hickey says Pope Francis calls us rather to look beyond short-term fixes to more fundamental and integrated changes.

This year the global community has a significant opportunity to make a difference through our three international conferences on sustainable development, climate change and development finance. “This is a critical moment for New Zealand to look beyond our own self-interest and domestic politics, and to be a bold leader in seeking the global common good. New Zealand needs to advocate strongly for ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse emissions.”

Pope Francis recognises the collective wisdom and experience of the Church, through the voices of many Catholic Bishops Conference statements outlining the environmental challenges facing their regions. “The Church in Aotearoa New Zealand is honoured by the inclusion of insights from our own Catholic Bishops. Pope Francis quotes from their 2006 environmental justice statement concerning the overconsumption by some that robs poor nations and future generations of what they need to survive.”

Mrs Hickey says Caritas will continue to study this encyclical and looks forward to being guided by our Bishops to apply it in our own context on the care of our natural and human home. “We welcome the opportunity it presents to engage more deeply on environmental concerns with political leaders and policy makers, our international and local partners, and the Catholic and wider community.”

A media statement on the encyclical from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference is available at: www.catholic.org.nz

ENDS

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