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H H H
our stewardship of God’s creation because “every creature is . . . the object
of the Father’s tenderness, who gives it its place in the world” (
Laudato Si’
,
no. 77).
Care for creation
is a duty of our faith and a sign of our concern for
all people, especially the poor, who “both everyday experience and scien-
tific research show” suffer “the gravest effects of all attacks on the environ-
ment” (no. 48). Pope Francis underscores that environmental degradation
can often force the poor “to leave their homes, with great uncertainty for
their future and that of their children” (no. 25). The threats to the environ-
ment are many. Pope Francis, consistent with both St. John Paul II and Pope
Benedict XVI (World Day of Peace Message in 1990 and 2010), has recently
lifted up pollution, climate change, lack of access to clean water, and the
loss of biodiversity as particular challenges. He speaks of an “ecological debt”
(no. 51) owed by wealthier nations to developing nations and he laments the
weakness of many responses to the ecological challenges rooted in “compla-
cency and a cheerful recklessness” (no. 59). In the face of this, we should aim
for “a new lifestyle” (no. 203-208), one that strives to live simply to meet the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs, and one that brings “healthy pressure to bear on those
who wield political, economic and social power.” (no. 206). We have a moral
obligation to protect the planet on which we live—to respect God’s creation
and to ensure a safe and hospitable environment for human beings, especially
children at their most vulnerable stages of development. As stewards called
by God to share the responsibility for the future of the earth, we should work
for a world in which people respect and protect all of creation and seek to live
simply in harmony with it for the sake of future generations. Fully embrac-
ing this task amounts to what Pope Francis calls an “ecological conversion”
(no. 219), by which “the effects of [our] encounter with Jesus Christ become
evident in [our] relationship with the world around [us]” (no. 217). Such a
conversion “can inspire us to greater creativity and enthusiasm in resolving
the world’s problems and in offering ourselves to God ‘as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable’ (Rom 12:1)” (no. 220).
Solidarity
Solidarity highlights in a particular way the intrinsic social nature of the human per-
son, the equality of all in dignity and rights and the common path of individuals and
peoples towards an ever more committed unity. . . . Solidarity must be seen above
all in its value as a moral virtue that determines the order of institutions. On the