EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Twelve, Number Three Fall 2003 Bishops Issue Ecology Appeal Pastoral letter notes smog, soil depletion and dying fisheries (excerpted from article written by Bob Harvey for The Ottawa Citizen Sunday, October 05, 2003) "Life on Earth today is plagued with an unprecedented and accelerating ecological crisis. Deforestation, species extinction, climate change, ecosystem collapse, contamination of air and water, and soil erosion are just a few of the enormous ecological problems which we face in Canada and elsewhere," says the pastoral letter released yesterday. Among the examples it cites are the closing of the cod fishery in Newfoundland, urban smog alerts in Toronto and Montreal, and risks to the safety of the food we eat. The bishops say the ecological crisis is also a "profoundly religious crisis. In destroying creation we are limiting our ability to know and love God." The document from the social affairs commission of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops urges the faithful not only to assess the energy use of their churches, but also to contribute financially to ecological causes and take political action. "Ecological problems are enmeshed within social structures that serve the interests of the few at the expense of many, especially those marginalized and in poverty," says the commission, chaired by Gaspé's Bishop Jean Gagnon. In destroying creation we are limiting our ability to know and love God. "Care for the environment is not an option.... Not to care for the environment is to ignore the Creator's plan for the Creation and results in an alienation of the human person," says the pastoral letter. It marks today's celebration of the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the gentle 12th-century saint who so loved nature that it was said birds came to hear his sermons. Home     Table of Contents