UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

INSTITUTE OF RELIGION

THEOLOGY 4

Living the
CHRISTIAN VISION IN THE
CONTEMPORARY WORLD
UNIT 2 - HARMONY WITH ALL CREATION: CALLED TO STEWARDSHIP
LESSON 1: CONCERN FOR NATURE
STUDY
Grounding the lesson in real life situations, acknowledging prior
beliefs and questions, addressing current issues and realities…

1. What is climate change?

2. What is the impact of climate change to our
community, our country and to the rest of the world?
3. What are the Human Roots of the present Ecological
Crisis? What human attitudes / activities / practices
contribute to bad effects of climate change?
RESEARCH
Approaching the subject from different angles and opinions, appraising
the views of various disciplines and perspectives...

The students will work in pairs or small groups virtually and

research on the ecological crisis from different perspectives
(science, business, politics, etc) assigned to them. They will
share with the plenary the summary of their findings in
answer to the question in the form of a meme or
infographic. After the plenary, the class will summarize
before proceeding to analysis
 CLIMATE CHANGE
• Is one of the most pressing problems that the entire human
family in the world is facing and which the coming or future
generation will inevitably suffer from: is the harmful effects
of environmental deterioration of our planet, which we
have caused (United Nations, 2017)
Cry of the Poor
“…the deterioration of the environment and of
society affects the most vulnerable people on
the planet.”
-Pope Francis
 "We are failing in addressing effectively the climate emergency
and the biodiversity crises.“ -Atty. Tony La Viña
We are known to be the second among the countries with the greatest
exposure to disaster risks worldwide.
The catastrophic super typhoons like Yolanda/Haiyan (Nov. 2013) ,
Ondoy/Ketsana (Sept 2009), Sendong, and Pablo,

• Effects of climate change: series of typhoons (2020)

• Quinta - Oct 25,
• Rolly - Nov. 1,
• Siony - Nov 7,
• Tonyo - Nov 9
• Ulysses - Nov 11
 Greta Thunberg,
15 years old
In August 2018, she started
spending her school days
outside the Swedish parliament
to call for stronger action on
climate change by holding up a
sign reading Skolstrejk för
klimatet (School strike for
climate). Soon, other students
engaged in similar protests in
their own communities.
Together, they organised a
school climate strike movement
under the name Fridays for
Future.
People are suffering.
People are dying.
Entire ecosystems are Greta Thunberg ,17
collapsing. Climate activist,
from Sweden
We are in the beginning
of a mass extinction,
Speech Addressing the
and all you can talk U.N.'s Climate Action
about is money and Summit in New York
fairy tales of eternal City September 23,
economic growth. 2019
 "You say you hear us and
that you understand the
urgency…
Because if you really
understood the situation
and still kept on failing to
act,
then you would be evil.
And that I refuse to
believe.
Addressing the U.N.'s Climate
Greta Thunberg,17 Action Summit
 ANALYSIS
Articulating and reflecting about the question together with the
help of other disciplines AND IN THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIAN
FAITH…

Read Laudato Si’ chapters 1-2

Guide for reading:
List down the problems or challenges that were identified by
Pope Francis.
What according to him is the root of the environmental crisis?
Do you agree with his view of the current situation?
What is integral ecology? How is this rooted in our Christian faith?
Pope Francis with the Global Catholic
Climate Movement
 “To all people of Good will”
“More than 50 years ago, with the world on the brink of
nuclear crisis, Pope Saint John XXIII wrote an Encyclical which
not only rejected war but offered a proposal for peace. He
addressed his message Pacem in Terris to the entire “Catholic
world” and indeed “to all men and women of good will”.
Now, faced as we are with global environmental
deterioration, I wish to address every person living on this
planet…. I would like to enter into dialogue with all people
about our common home.”
- (Francis, LS no.3)
 CLIMATE CHANGE

• Climate change = consequences of our harmful actions,

which unfortunately, generates or produces more damaging
and irreparable impacts to communities and its
environment (Francis, 2015)
• WHY is Laudato Si’ addressed to “every person living in this planet”?

• 1 ALL
st - of us are affected – there is
already a CLIMATE EMERGENCY
• 2 - Because we are the ones responsible
nd

or accountable to the present and future

children/generation
• 3 - And we “are capable of rising above
rd

ourselves”
We can solve this as long as we stay united and
act very quickly, to act “now” as if our very own
house is on fire, it’s burning and we are in a state
of emergency.
 Man as the Imago Dei
• “All is not lost. Human beings while capable of the worst, are
also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what
is good, and making a new start… We are able to take an
honest look at ourselves, to acknowledge our deep
dissatisfaction, and to embark on new paths to authentic
freedom. No system can completely suppress our openness to
what is good, true and beautiful, or our God-given ability to
respond to his grace at work deep in our hearts. I appeal to
everyone throughout the world not to forget this dignity which
is ours. No one has the right to take it from us.” -(Francis, LS 205)
 • Pope urges us to respond to the signs of
the times: the ecological crisis we are all
experiencing especially the global
problem: Climate Change.
• He emphasizes on the need for ecological
Called to Caring conversion, embracing ecological
Stewardship citizenship thru the cultivation of
ecological virtues, leading to selfless
ecological commitment
 But What is the Root Cause of our Ecological Crisis?

A. Concern for Nature

1. The Human Roots of the Present Ecological Crisis
a. Environmental, Social and Human Degradation
b. Technocratic Paradigm and
Modern Anthropocentrism
(c. Problem Tree Analysis)
 • Pope Francis offers a theological criteria to
judge the crisis of our common home
• The Pope affirms that the ecological crisis is
not only about the collapse of the planet’s
ecosystems…but is also a theological issue… is
symptomatic of a deeper spiritual crisis.
• The theology of Earth presented in Laudato Si’
is a vital tool to understand the ecological
crisis & to respond to it effectively

- The Ten Green Commandments of Laudato Si’ (2019) Kureethadam, pp. 55-57
 • The contemporary ecological crisis
points to the amnesia (forgetfulness)
of a deeper truth:
That the world is above all God’s
creation and is permeated with the
divine presence.

- The Ten Green Commandments of Laudato Si’ (2019) Kureethadam, p. 57

The Importance of Remembering
The Duty to Remember

• For the Israelites the beginning of sin is to FORGET

Angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah – Lk 1:13ff Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary – Lk 1:30 ff
Zechariah from the Hebrew name
Zekharyah means: ‫זְכ ְַריָה‬
"God Has Remembered".

“the LORD remembers”

God / Yahweh remembers
‫זְ כ ְַריָה‬
 PCP II pointed out our tendency to forget the lessons
of the past, thus we remain reactive…
Loss of memory?

SIN- Nalimutan... Kinalimutan… NAKALIMOT

To forget who God is, the commandments of God, who we are (that we
are not gods), as stewards, as disciples, His Imago Dei… to forget all the
good things God has done for us, the values, and lessons we have
learned.
III. Harmony with all Creation:
Called to Stewardship
A. Concern for Nature

PART 2
And so let us now recall, remember the ff:
A. Concern for Nature (LS)
P A R T 2 . The Good News of Creation
a. The Plan of God for Creation
b. The Role of Man in Creation
c. Authentic Development
The Good News
of Creation
In the wake of modernity, we have been
accustomed to look at the natural world as inert
matter – the Cartesian res extensa, as in
modern science, or as merely as storehouse of
resources, as in the neoliberal economy
-(Kureethadam, p.57)
 Chapter 2 of Laudato Si’
is entitled:
“The Gospel of Creation”
It presents the theological
foundation of the encyclical’s
theological vision.
Creation is Good News because:
1.Creation is very good in God’s
own eyes
2.Creation is a profound act of
love on the part of God
3.Creation is God’s first
revelation
 Creation is Good News because:
st
1 Creation is very good in God’s own eyes
• It is the basic goodness of creation in God’s
own eyes that constitutes the intrinsic worth
of every created reality -(Kureethadam, p.57)

• [Ecosystems] have an intrinsic value

independent of their usefulness. Each
organism, as a creature of God, is good and
• GOD LOOKED AT EVERYTHING
HE MADE AND FOUND IT admirable in itself; the same is true of the
VERY GOOD
• Genesis 1:31
harmonious ensemble of organisms existing
in a defined space and functioning as a
system. (LS 140)
•Pope Francis inaugurates a new era
in the Catholic Church’s approach to
the natural world.
•The world of animals, forests,
mountains and waters are
inextricably part of God’s good
news for us;
•they express and participate in the
mystery of salvation. (Grey Carmody)
we are called to recognize that other living
beings have a value of their own in God’s
eyes: “by their mere existence they bless
him and give him glory”, and indeed, “the
Lord rejoices in all his works” (Ps 104:31).…

In our time, the Church does not simply

state that other creatures are completely
subordinated to the good of human beings,
as if they have no worth in themselves and
can be treated as we wish.
LS #69
The German bishops have taught that,
where other creatures are concerned:
“we can speak of the priority of being
over that of being useful”.
The Catechism clearly criticizes a
distorted anthropocentrism
Each creature possesses its own
particular goodness and perfection…

LS #69
Each of the various creatures, willed in
its own being,
reflects in its own way a ray of God’s
infinite wisdom and goodness.
Man must therefore respect the
particular goodness of every creature,
to avoid any disordered use of things”.

LS #69; CCC no. 339

 “by their mere existence they
bless him and give Him glory” –LS
69
 Creation is Good News because:
nd
2 Creation is a profound act of love on the part of God

• Our physical universe is not an accident or a

fluke event
• Creation has to do with God’s loving plan in
which every creature has its own value and
significance…
• The whole creation & every creature is a sign of
Before I formed you in God’s outpouring love. Every creature is
the womb, I knew you
brought into existence out of love and with a
Jer 1:5
definite purpose.
-(Kureethadam, p.60)
 Creation is Good News because:
nd
2 Creation is a profound act of love on the part of God

• Unlike a detached study of nature,

“Creation can only be understood as
a gift from the outstretched hand of the
Father of all,
and as a reality illuminated by the love
which calls us together into universal
• GOD LOOKED AT EVERYTHING HE MADE
AND FOUND IT VERY GOOD communion.”(LS 76)
• Genesis 1:31
 Creation is Good News because:
nd
2 Creation is a profound act of love on the part of God
• Every creature is thus the object of the Father’s
Before I formed you tenderness who give it its place in the world. (LS
in the womb, I knew 77)
you Jer 1:5 • The entire material universe speaks of God’s
love. Soil, water, mountain… (LS 84)
• It is all the more in the case of humanity: We
are not here by chance… We were conceived
in the heart of God… “each of us is the result
of the thought of God.
• Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of
us is necessary” (LS65)
-(Kureethadam, pp. 61-62)
 Creation is Good News because:
rd
3 Creation as God’s Self-Revelation

• Creation is the very first epiphany of God, God’s

first and primordial revelation.
• God has written a precious book/ whose letters are
the multitude of created things present in the
universe - (John Paul II, 2002)
• Nature speaks to us of the Creator (cf. Rom
Black naped monarch found in Tarlac 1:20) and his love for humanity
(Benedict XVI, CV no. 48)

• His divine presence, which ensures the subsistence &

growth of each being, continues the work of creation.
– (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, q. 104, art. 1, ad.4.)

Palawan otter
-(Kureethadam, pp. 61-62)
• “Nature as a whole not only manifests
God but is also a locus of his presence”
(LS 88; Bishops of Brazil)

The Canadian bishops pointed out that no creature is

excluded from this manifestation of God: “From panoramic
vistas to the tiniest living form, nature is a constant source
of wonder and awe. It is also a continuing revelation of the
divine”. (LS 85)
The bishops of Japan made a thought-provoking observation: “To
sense each creature singing the hymn of its existence is to live joyfully
in God’s love and hope”. (LS 85)
 • The Call to regard each
creature as brother and
sister, and the Earth
our common home as
both sister and mother
Creation carries the imprint of the Divine.
St. Francis of Assisi praises God not
only for creation
but also in Creation But this is not like neo-paganism
or new pantheism
 • St. Francis of Assisi, invites us
to see nature as a
magnificent book in which
God speaks to us and grants
us a glimpse of His infinite
beauty and goodness (LS 12)

“his eternal power and divinity have been made known

“Through the greatness and the beauty of creatures through his works since the creation of the world”
one comes to know by analogy their maker”
Wisdom 13:5
Romans 1:20
• Human Beings are Imago Dei. We are
created in God’s image and likeness.
• “In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis returns often
to the symbolic view of creation.
• Created realities are ultimately symbols of
God – its capacity to link the finite with the
infinite.
• As symbols of God, created realities are
vestigia Dei – signs and traces of God’s
presence in creation
-(Kureethadam, p. 64)
• the awareness that each creature
reflects something of God and has a
message to convey to us,
• and the security that Christ has taken
unto himself this material world and
now, risen,
• is intimately present to each being,
surrounding it with his affection and
penetrating it with his light.
LS 221
• Jesus invited his disciples “to recognize the paternal
relationship God has with all his creatures”

• He reminded them of the Father’s loving

tenderness & care for all creatures and
how each one of them is important in
God’s eyes:
• “Look at the birds of the air: they neither
sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and
yet your heavenly Father feeds
them” (Mt 6:26) (LS 96)

-(Kureethadam, pp. 71-72)

• Then too, there is the
recognition that God created
the world, writing into it an
order and a dynamism that
human beings have no right to
ignore.
• We read in the Gospel that
Jesus says of the birds of the
air that “not one of them is
forgotten before God”
(Lk 12:6).
• How then can we possibly
mistreat them or cause them
harm? LS 221
 Pope Francis notes with sadness and
with profound theological insight:

It is not enough, however, to think of

different species merely as potential
“resources” to be exploited,
while overlooking the fact that they
have value in themselves.

LS 33
• Each year sees the disappearance of
thousands of plant and animal species
which we will never know,
• which our children will never see,
because they have been lost for ever.
• The great majority become extinct for
reasons related to human activity.
• Because of us, thousands of species will
no longer give glory to God by their very
existence, nor convey their message to
us.
• We have no such right. LS 33
• When created things become vestigia Dei (signs &
traces of God’s presence in creation) – creation
becomes a true act of communication.
• In every act of communication, no single word or
expression will be sufficient to communicate reality.
• It is also true of God’s communication in Creation.
• No one creature not even the human, is sufficient to
represent God.
• The infinitely diverse living species are indeed
pages of God’s great Book of Works, revealing the
Creator’s wisdom & goodness. -(Kureethadam, p. 65)
St Thomas explained that the diversity of
the extraordinary array of creatures
roaming the earth reveals the richness of
the nature of God.
He said that: multiplicity and variety “come from the intention of
the first agent” who willed that “what was wanting to one in the
representation of the divine goodness might be supplied
by another” (LS 86)
Inasmuch as God’s goodness “could not be
represented fittingly by any one creature.”
Summa Theologiae, I, q. 47, art. 1.
-(Kureethadam, p. 66)
The Plan of God for Creation: Creation’s Call
to Universal Communion
• “As part of the universe,
• called into being by one Father,
• all of us are linked by unseen bonds and
• together form a kind of universal family,
• a sublime communion
• which fills us with a sacred, affectionate
and humble respect.” (LS 89)
 The Plan of God for Creation: Creation’s Call
to Universal Communion
• Pope Francis sees human life as a pilgrimage in
communion
• along with the rest of God’s creatures,
• bonded together by God’s love

-(Kureethadam, p. 66)
The Plan of God for Creation: Creation’s Call
to Universal Communion
• Everything is related,
• and we human beings are united as
brothers and sisters on a wonderful
pilgrimage,
• woven together by the love God has
• for each of His creatures
• and which also unites us in fond affection
with brother sun, sister moon,
brother river and mother earth.
(LS 92)

-(Kureethadam, p. 66)
The Plan of God for Creation: Creation’s Call
to Universal Communion
• Our universal communion with the rest of the
human family & with the whole creation
consequently entails:
• the common or universal destination of all Earth’s
goods which are meant to benefit everyone.
• The sharing of Earth’s fruits is ultimately a question
of
• fidelity to the Creator, since God created the world
for everyone
-(LS 93)

-(Kureethadam, p. 68)
The Plan of God for Creation: Creation’s Call
to Universal Communion
Creation’s ultimate destiny is:
the final communion with God, the Creator
The destiny of creation is bound up with
the mystery of Christ present from the beginning
“all things have been created through him and
for him” (Col 1:16)-(LS 99)

-(Kureethadam, p. 69)
 • “For God so loved the world He gave us
His only Son…” –Jn3:16
• The Word “became flesh” (Jn 1:14)--One
Person of the Trinity entered into the
created cosmos, throwing in his lot with
it, even to the cross.(LS 99)
• Christ has taken unto himself this
“Creation awaits with material world and now, risen, is
eager expectation.. intimately present to each being,
All creation is groaning” surrounding it with his affection and
– cf. Romans 8:18-22 penetrating it with his light.(LS 221)
 • The earthly Jesus, risen & glorious, is
“present throughout creation by his
universal Lordship” reconciling to
himself all things. (Col 1:19-20)
• “Christ as Savior” means:
He is Savior of all there is (John Paul II)

• All of creation became subject to

futility, waiting in a mysterious way to
“Creation awaits with be set free and to obtain a glorious
eager expectation.. liberty together with all the children of
All creation is groaning” God (cf. Rom 8:20-21).
– cf. Romans 8:18-22
The Plan of God for Creation: Creation’s Call
to Universal Communion
• It is the whole creation, the entire physical
universe, and not just humanity alone, that is
destined to be redeemed & transformed in Christ.
• Thus, no reason for humans to tyrannically
dominate other creatures.
• Rather, humanity’s task is to lovingly accompany all
of creation in their eschatological journey

-(Kureethadam, p. 69)
The Plan of God for Creation: Creation’s Call to Universal Communion

• The ultimate purpose of other creatures is not

to be found in us. Rather, all creatures are
moving forward with us and through us towards
a common point of arrival, which is God, in that
transcendent fullness where the risen Christ
embraces and illumines all things.

-(Kureethadam, p. 69)
The Plan of God for Creation: Creation’s Call to Universal Communion
• “Creation is destined to communion with God”
(Cajes, p.147).

• Human beings, endowed with intelligence and love,

drawn by the fullness of Christ, are called to lead all
creatures back to their Creator. (LS 83)
• The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the
entry of God's creatures into the perfect unity of the
Blessed Trinity
(CCC no. 260).
 The Plan of God for Creation

“For thus says the LORD, the Creator of the heavens, who is God.
The designer and maker of the earth who established it,
not creating it to be a waste, but designing it be lived in:
I am the LORD, and there is no other.”
- Isaiah 45:18
 AUTHENTIC DEVELOPMENT

Without God man neither knows which way to go,

nor even understands who he is.
Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate no 78
Let us review the definition of Authentic development from the
ff. encyclicals:

The development We speak of here cannot

be restricted to economic growth alone. To
be authentic, it must be well rounded; it must
foster the development of each man and of
the whole man.

Pope Paul VI Populorum Progressio (1967) no 14.

Let us review the definition of Authentic development from the ff.
encyclicals:
• Genuine progress does not consist in wealth
sought for personal comfort or for its own sake;
rather it consists in an economic order designed
for the welfare of the human person, where the
daily bread that each man receives reflects the
glow of brotherly love and the helping hand of
God.…
• Development means peace
Pope Paul VI Populorum Progressio (1967) nos 86- 87.
Authentic development from the encyclical:

• Development must not be understood solely in

economic terms, but in a way that is fully St. John Paul II, Centesimus
Annus (1991), 29
human. It is not only a question of raising all
peoples to the level currently enjoyed by the The apex of development
richest countries, is the exercise of the
• but rather of building up a more decent life
through united labor, of concretely enhancing right and duty to seek
every individual's dignity and creativity, God, to know him and to
• as well as his capacity to respond to his personal live in accordance with
vocation, and thus to God's call.
that knowledge
Let us review the definition of Authentic development from the ff.
encyclicals:
• authentic human development concerns the
whole of the person in every single dimension
• it must be “integral - it has to promote the
good of every man and of the whole man
(PP no 14)
• it should be stressed that progress of a merely Pope Benedict XVI,
CARITAS IN VERITATE
economic and technological kind is (2009) On Integral Human
insufficient. Development needs above all to Development in Charity &
be true and integral Truth, nos. 11, 18, 23
Let us review the definition of Authentic development from the ff.
encyclicals:

The sharing of goods and resources,

from which authentic development proceeds,
is not guaranteed by merely technical progress
and relationships of utility,
Pope Benedict XVI,
but by the potential of love that overcomes evil CARITAS IN VERITATE
with good (cf. Rom 12:21), (2009) On Integral Human
opening up the path towards reciprocity of Development in Charity &
Truth, no. 9
consciences and liberties.
Let us review the definition of Authentic development from the ff.
encyclicals:

• such development requires a transcendent

vision of the person, it needs God: without
him, development is either denied, or
entrusted exclusively to man, who falls into
Pope Benedict XVI,
the trap of thinking he can bring about his CARITAS IN VERITATE
own salvation, and ends up promoting a (2009) On Integral Human
dehumanized form of development. Development in Charity &
Truth, no. 11
Let us review the definition of Authentic development from the ff.
encyclicals:

Only through an encounter with God are

we able to see in the other something
more than just another creature, to
recognize the divine image in the other,
thus truly coming to discover him or her Pope Benedict XVI,
and to mature in a love that “becomes CARITAS IN VERITATE
(2009) On Integral Human
concern and care for the other.” Development in Charity &
Truth, no. 11
Let us review the definition of Authentic development from the ff.
encyclicals:
• Development must include not just material
growth but also spiritual growth, since the
human person is a “unity of body and soul”,
born of God's creative love and destined for
eternal life. Pope Benedict XVI,
CARITAS IN VERITATE
• There cannot be holistic development and (2009) no. 76; Gaudium et
universal common good unless people's spiritual Spes, 14.
and moral welfare is taken into account,
considered in their totality as body and soul.
Let us review the definition of Authentic development from the ff.
encyclicals:
• The greatest service to development is a
Christian humanism that enkindles charity and
takes its lead from truth, accepting both as a
lasting gift from God. A humanism which
excludes God is an inhuman humanism.
• Only a humanism open to the Absolute can Pope Benedict XVI,
CARITAS IN VERITATE
guide us in the promotion and building of forms (2009) no. 78
of social and civic life — structures, institutions,
culture and ethos —
Let us review the definition of Authentic development from the ff.
encyclicals:
• Today the subject of development is
also closely related to the duties
arising from our relationship to the
natural environment. Pope Benedict XVI,
CARITAS IN VERITATE
• The environment is God's gift to (2009) no. 48
everyone, and in our use of it we have
a responsibility towards the poor,
towards future generations and
towards humanity as a whole.
Let us review the definition of Authentic development from the ff.
encyclicals:
• We must recognize our grave duty to hand the earth on to
future generations in such a condition that they too can
worthily inhabit it and continue to cultivate it. Pope Benedict XVI,
CARITAS IN VERITATE
• This means being committed to making joint decisions (2009) no. 50

“after pondering responsibly the road to be taken,

decisions aimed at strengthening that covenant between
human beings and the environment, which should mirror
the creative love of God, from whom we come and
towards whom we are journeying.
Social love is the key to authentic
development:
“In order to make society more human, more
worthy of the human person,
love in social life – political, economic and
cultural – must be given renewed value, Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ (2015)
becoming the constant and highest norm for no.231

all activity”
 Includes efforts to bring about an integral
improvement in the quality of human life,
this entails considering the setting in which
people live their lives. These settings influence
Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ (2015)
the way we think, feel and act. no.147

In our rooms, our homes, our workplaces and neighborhoods,

we use our environment as a way of expressing our identity.
We make every effort to adapt to our environment,
but when it is disorderly, chaotic or saturated with noise and
ugliness, such overstimulation makes it difficult to find ourselves
integrated and happy.
• “the most extraordinary scientific
advances,
• the most amazing technical abilities,
• the most astonishing economic growth,
• unless they are accompanied by authenticPope Francis, Laudato Si’ (2015) nos. 4, 16
social and moral progress,
• will definitively turn against man”
(quoting Paul VI Octogesima Adveniens)

“the call to seek other ways of understanding the economy and progress”
 We have certain superficial mechanisms,
but we cannot claim to have a sound ethics,
a culture and spirituality genuinely capable of
setting limits
and teaching clear-minded self-restraint
because
our immense technological development has
not been accompanied by
a development in:
human responsibility,
values and conscience. Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ (2015)
no.105
 AUTHENTIC DEVELOPMENT
• In this world, that you love more than we do,
we have gone ahead at breakneck speed,
feeling powerful and able to do anything.
• Greedy for profit, we let ourselves get
caught up in things, and lured away by
haste.
• We did not stop at your reproach to us, we Pope Francis’ Urbi et
were not shaken awake by wars or injustice Orbi address on
across the world, coronavirus and Jesus
calming the storm,
• nor did we listen to the cry of the poor or of March 27,2020
our ailing planet.
 AUTHENTIC DEVELOPMENT

• We carried on regardless, thinking

we would stay healthy in a world
that was sick.
• Now that we are in a stormy sea, we
implore you….. Pope Francis’ Urbi et
• In the face of so much suffering, Orbi address on
coronavirus and Jesus
where the authentic development of calming the storm,
our peoples is assessed… March 27,2020
 AUTHENTIC DEVELOPMENT
“Be converted!”, “Return to me with all
your heart” (Joel 2:12). You are calling on
us to seize this time of trial as a time
of choosing.
It is not the time of your judgement, but
of our judgement:
Pope Francis’ Urbi et
• a time to choose what matters and Orbi address on
what passes away, coronavirus and Jesus
• a time to separate what is necessary calming the storm,
March 27,2020
from what is not.
 ACTION
Applying new knowledge to praise (worship - to adore and praise God),
to bless (morals - to bless God by being a blessing to others), to preach
(doctrine - to share and proclaim faith)…

Reflect on five possible responses that you can personally

do to become part of the solution to the environmental
problem.