Our Mother Earth
By Deacon Tom Cervone, Ph.D., Sister Maureen Houlihan, D.C., and Nicole Cervone-Gish, Ed. M.S.
Editor’s note: This series takes a deeper look at Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “On Care for Our Common Home, Laudato Si’”
Gaylord Nelson, who founded Earth Day, saw, in the 1960’s, a deteriorating environment and Anti-Vietnam War protests. Both gave him the idea for a “teach-in” about environmental issues on April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day. It’s estimated that 20 million people participated in this event, according to “The History of Earth Day, Adirondack Council.” The first two websites under “What can we do!” give ideas for Earth Day on April 22, 2023.
In addition, we find, in the Vatican’s archives and libraries from 1948 to today, how the Church has embraced care for creation long before the ecological crisis became part of the global discourse (Theodore Lai and Cecilia Tortajada, “The Holy See and the Global Environmental Movement,” 7/22/2021). The last seven popes have voiced their concerns.
In 2015, Pope Francis called for a change in the world’s energy system, saying, “There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, e.g., substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy” (Laudato Si’, 26).
In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI asked people to take action to safeguard the climate, saying, “degradation of the environment is a pressing moral problem that threatens peace and human life itself. We cannot remain indifferent to what is happening around us, for the deterioration of any one part of the planet affects us all” (Pope’s peace message focuses on environment, 1/1/2010).
In 1989, Pope John Paul II said, “In our day, there is a growing awareness that world peace is threatened not only by the arms race, regional conflicts and continued injustices among peoples and nations, but also by a lack of due respect for nature ….” (No. 1, Pope John Paul II, The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility, 12/8/1989).
In 1971, then-Archbishop Albino Luciani (later Pope John Paul I) suggested dioceses in rich countries tithe 1% of their income to Vatican charities working in the developing world. This should be given, he said, “not as alms, but as something that is owed ....” (“Pope John Paul I, an alternative to the ‘celebrity saint’,” Our Faith, J. Peter Nixon, 8/31/2022).
In 1971, Pope Paul VI, in “Octogesima adveniens,” warned, “we risk destroying nature and then becoming a victim of its degradation. He refers to pollution, refuse and the absolute destructive capacity of the human race .…” (Philip Booth, Online Course Unit 8, The environment, Catholic social teaching and public policy, St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, London).
In 1963, Pope John XXIII supported the use of renewable energy – including solar, wind and geothermal – well before the rest of the world. (Theodore Lai and Cecilia Tortajada, “The Holy See and the Global Environmental Movement,” 7/22/2021).
In 1948, Pope Pius XII spoke to delegates from the European nations, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which led to the formation of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council (Thompson, R. J., 1943, The United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture. J. R. Stat. Soc. 106, 273–276).
What can we do!
Visit: https://www.nrdc.org/stories/5-ways-make-earth-day-really-count?
https://www.sustainableharvest.org/blog/2022/4/20/shis-thirteen-sustainable-practices?
https://www.usccb.org/resources/renewing-earth
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2021.715900/full
St. Pope John Paul II, for the celebration of the World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, 1990, proclaimed peace with God the Creator and peace with all of creation (“The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility,” The Vatican, 1/1/1990).
Dr. Tom Cervone is a deacon at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Evansville, Indiana with 50 years of experience in ecology. He graduated from St. Bonaventure University, a Franciscan University. Sister Maureen Houlihan, D.C. is a support sister on the Seton Harvest Farm started by the Daughters of Charity in response to the Communities - Care of Mother Earth. This CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farm grows all natural produce for shareholders and the poor. Nicole Cervone-Gish, Ed. MS. is an award winning ELL (English Language Learner) teacher, who lives in Evansville, Indiana with her family.