CCSJ 's Message On Green Living

The Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) of St. Joseph/Mt. D’Or Parish, Trinidad has become one of the newest groups in the parish, taking off successfully in 2012. The group is committed to promoting work which addresses social and environmental justice issues. Social justice issues include a focus on welfare and the poor. Work surrounding environmental justice issues is often overlooked and so the CCSJ appreciated the theme for respect for life week as it provided a platform to show just how the CCSJ incorporates environmental justice issues in its mission. This is in keeping with Catholic Social Teaching which encourages us to be stewards of God's creation with love and wisdom. The central message of Catholic Social Teaching on the environment is that mankind was commissioned by God to act as steward for the earth's resources, and guardian of God's "creative work".

The Catholic Church has been communicating its position on environmental conservation through some major global forums and through the work of different groups and organisations in the Church throughout the world. The late Pope John Paul II left us with numerous readings on the subject. He taught that it is man's responsibility to "defend and promote life, to show reverence and love for it is a task which God entrusts to every man, calling him as his living image to share his own lordship over the world ..." (Evangelium Vitae, Section 42 (1995).

The ecological crisis is a moral issue. Environmental and social justice issues cannot be divorced especially in the case of the poor. In the past the Church has taught that "the whole human race suffers as a result of environmental blight, and generations yet unborn will bear the cost for our failure to act today. But in most countries today, including our own, it is the poor and the powerless that most directly bear the burden of current environmental carelessness."

As in the case of the poor "their lands and neighborhoods are more likely to be polluted or to host toxic waste dumps, their water to be undrinkable, their children to be harmed". They are "caught in a spiral of poverty and environmental degradation, poor people suffer acutely from the loss of soil fertility, pollution of rivers and urban streets, and the destruction of forest resources. Overcrowding and unequal land distribution often force them to overwork the soil, clear the forests, or migrate to marginal land. Their efforts to eke out a bare existence add in its own way to environmental degradation and not infrequently to disaster for themselves and others who are equally poor."

(These quotes were taken from the Renewing the Earth article which draws on two other articles: An Invitation to Reflection and Action on Environment in Light of Catholic Social Teaching A Pastoral Statement of the United States Catholic Conference
November 14, 1991 and Pope John Paul II, The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility, nos. 1, 15, December 8, 1989)

Pope John Paul II further added that, man has been called to "till and look after the 

garden of the world (cf. Gen 215) [therefore] man has a specific responsibility towards the environment in which he lives, towards the creation which God has put at the service of his personal dignity, of his life, not only for the present but also for future generations" (Evangelium Vitae, Section 42 (1995).

Whether poor or not, environmental issues affect our health and in turn our life. This is why we found it fitting to have as part of our activities for Respect for Life Week in October 2012, a lecture on diabetes, a lifestyle disease affecting many. We also held a talk on organic planting that also aimed to send home this message. As stewards, we not only care for the environment and all of God's creation, but we should also show appreciation for the gift of life by trying to live healthy lives. Our speaker, Mr. Nicholas Roberts exemplified the life of a true steward of the environment and has proven to be an inspiration to us all through his two projects on organic home farming/gardening and collection of plastics, bottles and more, for reuse and recycling.  He does composting using garden waste from gardeners in his neighborhood and uses it to grow his organic produce. His garden is a model of how material can be reused to serve as vessels for plants.

In the pursuit of environmental justice, this kind of action should be encouraged and supported. Pope John Paul II says it best in his Liturgy of the word celebrated in Zamosc, Poland on June 12, 1999: "Only those who till the land can really testify that the barren earth does not produce fruit, but when cared for lovingly it is a generous provider".

The Catholic Committee for Social Justice, St. Joseph/Mt. D’Or Parish, St. Joseph, Trinidad, would like to share this message to encourage Catholic green living for environmental justice. Please receive this message with and open heart and an open mind and let us pray towards greater environmental justice in the world today.

Writer

Juliana Sherma Foster