Care for God's Creation is one of the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and a requirement of our faith. All of creation is a gift and we are responsible for it. When the Earth is abused by environmental degradation, it is a sin and all of us our affected especially the poor. Pope Benedict in his World Day of Peace address this year has linked environmental justice with the cause for peace. He shows and our faith teaches that caring for God's creation enables and encourages solidarity with all the Earth's inhabitants.
Our Peace and Justice commission and Center for Catholic Social Teaching encourages you this Earth Day to put your faith into action. Below are some ideas to how you can celebrate the day and links to resources.
Ideas of how you can care for God's creation this Earth Day
- Ride a bike or walk to school or work.
- Make an energy fast by not using electricity. Keep your lights off, do not run your appliances, and refrain from using hot water.
- Instead of watching TV for entertainment, play board games with family and friends.
- Get outside and go for a hike or work in a garden.
- Bring your own bags shopping and your own mug to the coffee shop.
- Reduce, Reuse. Recycle.
Here are some links for more ideas and resources:
The Catholic Coalition on Climate Change works with the U.S. Bishops to promote environmental justice. Take the St. Francis Pledge to care for creation and the poor.
The USCCB, through their Environmental Justice Program, has many resources to help you learn about this issue.
The Legacy Land Conservancy is a local non-profit working to protect and preserve the environment of southern Michigan.
Flow for Water works to raise awareness about water issues and protecting the Great Lakes. They are at the forefront of combating the problems of the bottle water industry and the privatization of water.
The Pew Center for Climate Change is a leader in bringing together business leaders, policy makers, scientists, environementalists, and others to find new ways to protect the environment and while sustaining economy security for all people. Their website has many resources to educate you on this complex issue.
