Vatican City, Apr 22, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
In a message marking Earth Day, Pope Francis urged world leaders to “act with courage, operate with justice, and always tell the truth to people,” so that the destruction of the planet can be prevented before it is too late.
“The adversity we are experiencing with the pandemic, and which we already feel in climate change, must spur us, must push us to innovation, invention, to seek new paths,” the pope said April 22.
The pope’s video message was played during an Earth Day live stream on YouTube organized by EarthDay.org, which oversees the event held annually on April 22 since 1970.
In his message, Pope Francis said that we do not emerge from a crisis the same, but “we come out better or worse.”
“This is the challenge, and if we do not come out better, we go down a path of self-destruction,” he said.
“In this commemoration of Earth Day, it is always good to remember that the things we have been saying to each other for a long time must not fall into oblivion,” he continued.
Francis said that for some time people have been more aware of the need to protect nature, and that interactions with the biodiversity given to us by God must take place “with the utmost attention and respect.”
The coronavirus pandemic, he said, has taught us more about the impact our lives have on nature and climate change.
“And this shows us that global nature needs our lives on this planet. It involves us all, albeit in multiple, different and unequivocal forms,” he said.
“In summary, the COVID pandemic has taught us this interdependence, this sharing of the planet. And both global disasters, COVID and the climate, show that we don’t have time to wait any longer. That time is pressing us and that, as COVID-19 has taught us, yes, we have the means to face the challenge. We have the means. It is time to act, we are at the limit.”
Pope Francis recalled a Spanish saying: “God always forgives, we men forgive from time to time, nature no longer forgives.”
“And when this destruction of nature is triggered, it is very difficult to stop it. But we still have time. And we will be more resilient if we work together instead of doing it alone,” he said.
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I am seriously considering celebrating Earth Day by turning on every light in the house.
Ditto.
Something seems well, perhaps not quite rotten, not yet, though somewhat fishy in the State of Denmark. Has the Pontiff consulted with Jeffrey Sachs? “Adversity must spur us, must push us to innovation, invention, to seek new paths”. What new paths? Population control is a current theme of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. Jeffrey Sachs Columbia Univ Professor, former Director for the Earth Institute at Columbia U and invitee member of the Dicastery by prefect Cardinal Kevin Farrell is a global theorist on ecology and emissions containment, climate change, global economy. A strong advocate for abortion, abortifacients, all forms of birth control for population limitation to save the planet. “God always forgives, we men forgive from time to time, nature no longer forgives.” Now let’s get things straight. From whom do we seek forgiveness? God alone forgives the penalty of sin. Following repentance. Man forgives the debt owed another. Nature forgives nothing. Because Nature is not a conscious being. A forgiving Nature is purely conceptual. An idolatrous, false worship, say of a Pachamamma. Now the Vatican staged an heroic rescue of the goddess from drowning in the Tiber. Wrapped in woolen garment clutched to his breast His Holiness restored her to her pedestal. What is a poor country priest to think? Earth Day cannot, must not be envisioned as comparable to the ancient worship of Gaia [Gaea in original Gk].
I have never detected any evidence that any committed secular narcissistic neophiliac is capable of self-doubt let alone a committed secular narcissistic neophiliac who happens to be a pope. Were he to muster up some humility and religious faith, he might consider the possibility of providential intent in climatic adaptations, independent of human existence, that occur naturally as they have for as long as our planet has spun into its existence by our Creator. But I have little faith that anyone in his proximity will even muster sufficient testicular fortitude to plant the idea in his head to consider this.
Austin Ruse advised us to celebrate Earth Day by throwing garbage in the Recycling Bin, and leaving candy rappers about. Make “Mother Earth” cry.