A few years ago, I joined the Columban Justice, Peace and Ecology team on a special visit to Kew Gardens in London. It so happened that at that time there were posted everywhere the words “When plant life stops all life stops”. Wow ….
As everyone has been telling us from King Charles to Pope Francis, we are part of nature. But somehow, despite the fact that all the early saints were well known for their connection with the natural world (think for example of St Kevin and the blackbird, St Cuthbert and otters, St Columban and the bear, not to mention St Francis of Assisi) down through the centuries we have very often forgotten this connection.
Somehow Christianity for centuries forgot, didn’t take to heart the very first words of the bible “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. It seems that for a long-time church teaching was focused on animals not being of value and not having reason as can be seen from an incorrect interpretation of Genesis 1:28 and man having ‘dominion over the earth’. With notable exceptions, most Christians and wider society as well also believed this.
As Ben Okri Nigerian British poet has starkly expressed it:
“This earth that we love is in great danger, Because of us.
We have raped, exploited, abused, wrecked, disembowelled and destroyed her
We blow her up, we blast her apart. We smash her. We detonate Atomic bombs on her.
We poison her ….”
Then came Pope Francis who reminded us in Laudato Si that the earth is our sister and mother, the sun is our brother, the rivers and seas and lakes are our sister, the air and wind is our brother, the moon is our sister, and so on … And in paragraph 67 he states: “We are not God. The earth was here before us and it has been given to us …. Nowadays we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute dominion over other creatures. The biblical texts are to be read in their context, with an appropriate hermeneutic, recognizing that they tell us to ‘till and keep’ the garden of the world … ‘Tilling’ refers to cultivating, ploughing or working, while ‘keeping’ means caring protecting, overseeing and preserving.”
“When plant life stops, all life stops” Surely then care of our sister Mother Earth is the mother of all Pro-Life issues? When issues concerning assisted dying and abortion arise there are postcards at the back of the church in order that we can write to our MPs. What if we put the same energy into campaigning and working for a liveable planet? Christiana Figueres, (the COP 16 UN Executive Secretary at the time of the Paris Agreement) has said that climate change is the Mother of all Injustices. Wilfully not reducing the use of fossil fuels and destroying nature is a crime against the young, and those living in the global south. As missionaries we are acutely aware of the effects of climate breakdown and nature loss right now.
While we are all aware, to some degree, of climate breakdown and catastrophic loss of nature going on all around us, as yet we have not yet fully harnessed the potential and collective energy of 1.4 billion Catholics taking action to protect our Common Home. However, a great sign of hope, I believe, is the Laudato Si Movement with 20,000 Laudato Si animators around the world – a breath of the Holy Spirit, an amazing gift to the Church at this critical time in the history of humanity. With animators in the global south and global north, with the goal of bringing Laudato Si to life wherever they are, it is a truly unique global movement able to inspire our prayer, lifestyle changes and advocacy on issues of local and global concern. If you would like to learn more, go to https://laudatosimovement.org and if you are interested in doing the free Laudato Si animators course (4 webinars and a simple “seed” project) go to https://laudatosianimators.org
Tomás Insua, one of the founders of the Laudato Si Movement wrote an article last year entitled “Laudato Si’: A drop in the ocean or a powerful oceanic undercurrent? It’s up to us.” A way of taking up that challenge, of helping create a powerful oceanic undercurrent would be to start by celebrating the ecumenical Season of Creation (1st September to 4th October) in all our parishes, including the use of the Mass for the Care of Creation promulgated by Pope Leo last year. And show the film “The Letter” in all parishes during this time. “The Letter” referred to is of course the encyclical letter Laudato Si, subtitled “A Message for our Earth” and features Pope Francis. Hopefully it could be a springboard for further action. “The Letter” is available for free on YouTube. For help with public screenings go to https://theletterfilm.org
In 2023 Pope Francis wrote in Laudate Deum, “the other creatures of this world have stopped being our companions along the way and have become instead our victims” (LD15). This Season of Creation, may the Holy Spirit renew the face of the earth, inspiring us all to prayer and action on behalf of the whole inter-connected web of life.
Sr. Kate Midgley (Missioned in Chile, Peru, China, London and currently Scotland)