Church and Ecology

The Church and Ecology

In 1989, Pope John Paul II issued his message for World Peace Day entitled "Peace with God, Peace with All of Creation.”  Pope John Paul stated that world peace is threatened not only by war and the nuclear-arms race but also “by the plundering of natural resources and by a progressive decline in the quality of life.”

Pope Benedict XVI’s 2010 Message for the World Day of Peace, “If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation,” is the latest in a long tradition of Church teaching on our obligation to care for creation. Quoting Pope John Paul II and Pope Paul VI throughout his message, the Holy Father affirms that environmental degradation is “a wide-ranging social problem which concerns the entire human family” (# 3).

Pope John Paul continued by calling all the peoples of the world to a new sense of global interdependence in what he described as a “a morally coherent world view” in respect to the environment. The pope described the world’s ecological situation as a serious indication of the lack of respect for life, manifesting itself through widespread pollution and massive environmental destruction. There can be no peace, said Pope John Paul, without a deep respect for the integrity of creation. Calling the Earth “our common heritage, the fruits of which are for the benefit of all,” Pope John Paul urged “a more internationally coordinated approach to the management of the Earth’s goods,” and suggested a resurgence of simplicity, moderation and discipline as part of everyday life.