THEMES OF
CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING
# 7 - Care of God's
Creation
There
are seven major themes in Catholic Social Teaching. The Seventh theme is "Care For God's
Creation." Catholic Social Teaching
is not a option of Catholic Teaching that can be ignored any more than Catholic
Moral Teaching is an option that can be ignored. To be faithful Catholics we
must be faithful to all the Church's teachings.
That means first that we need to know what the Church teaches, especially
on modern issues that affect our lifestyle. I will present the Seven Themes of
Catholic Social Teaching in this blog over the next few weeks.
I am beginning with the Seventh Theme of
Catholic Social Teaching, Care of God's Creation, because of a special Lenten
project that I will explain below. It is interesting to me that The Catechism
of the Catholic Church includes the Social Teaching Themes within the Section
on the Ten Commandments. The Seventh Theme is included in the discussion of the
Seventh Commandment: Thou Shall Not Steal. (CCC #2401-2463) The Care of God's
Creation is summed up with the statement: "The dominion granted by the
Creator over mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be
separated from respect for moral obligations, including those towards generations
to come." (CCC #2456). Therefore, care for the environment is a moral
obligation for all Catholics. How we use our natural resources, how we handle
our waste products, how we treat the vegetable and animal life around us, all
have moral implications for us. Pope Benedict XVI states in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate, "The
environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a
responsibility towards the poor, towards the future generations and towards
humanity as a whole."
At
St. James in Johnson City, NY, the parish where I am a deacon on staff, has
come up with a project for Lent that reminds us of these obligations and give
us practical ways to fulfill them. The project is titled LENTEN CARBON FAST
2013. We are called to fast during Lent as a reminder of our need for
repentance and sacrifice. A carbon fast brings these virtues together with our
obligations toward the care of God's creation. The project lists a different
fast for each day of Lent. For Ash Wednesday, for instance, the fast calls for
the removal of one light bulb from your home and asks us to live without this
light for all of Lent. This will not only decrease the amount of electricity we
use but also remind us of our Carbon Fast. For Friday, March 1, the Fast calls
for us to pick up a piece of litter when we are out walking and dispose of it
properly. These suggestions are easy to do and remind us of our call as
stewards of creation. They will also, collectively, reduce our Carbon footprint
and help to preserve God's creation.
If
you would like a copy of the Lenten Carbon Fast 2013 send me your email and I
will forward it as an attachment.
For
more information of Catholic Social Teaching go to:United States Catholic Conference - Environment
Deacon
Ed
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