Over at Acton Institute, find a post and a short video by Acton’s head Fr. Robert Sirico about the upcoming encyclical on the “environment”. There is some good, basic information about encyclicals there, too. HERE
Fr. Sirico makes some good points in his 5 minute video.
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Thank you for posting this Father. I have been quite worried about it. And stressed to think that of all the subjects the Holy Father could address at this time…well it seems a waste.
I have NEVER EVER been one to criticize our Pope, but have been mortal afraid this might be a time that i would have to bite my tongue for the rest of my born days! Since Encyclicals are widely read and always with us.
I truly hope that it contains LOTS about how morals pollute our society. Since there might be some “supremes” who might listen. God Help us in the coming days!
My understanding is that some people in the UN are involved with the Vatican on this up-coming encyclical. I get what Fr. Sirico says about “moral law”- but given the UN’s “report” on the response to the Catholic’s church sexual abuse crisis, which included berating the Catholic Church for its stand on abortion, contraception – I don’t think there is a snowball’s chance in you-know-where, that the encyclical will have any impact in those quarters.
I personally don’t think it’s wise of Our Holy Father to have any dealings with the UN. The people in the UN have their own agenda, and it has nothing to do with moral law. Fr Gordon MacRae’s post this week does quite an exposition on the UN and their hypocrisy. If Fr Z allows it, here is the link to Fr. Gordon MacRae’s post: http://thesestonewalls.com/gordon-macrae/un-sex-abuse-the-united-nations-high-commissioner-of-hypocrisy/
I like the Acton Institute a lot. However, I am waiting to see the encyclical before panicking. As an encyclical, we have to take what is said seriously. Let us pray for the Pope.
Fr. Sirico’s recognition of the dual roles of dominion and stewardship guided by reason and in accordance with the Divine Plan are most important. To that end, scientific discoveries should be supported that result in more efficient use of resources and have the assuredly licit side effect of reducing the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
He’s wrong. The encyclical won’t be about the obligation to care for the environment we all utilize for our benefit and other nonsense like that which depends upon objective moral principles. Just like he already infallibly condemned capitalism as pure evil, Pope Francis is going to infallibly declare global warming a teaching of the Catholic Church that we have to believe or be excommunicated. I know because I read it in the news, which never gets anything wrong about how the Catholic Church works.
Seriously though, he makes a lot of points I’ve tried to make to others, but of course he does a better job. Unfortunately, the way the encyclical will get reported in the mainstream media when it is promulgated, it will almost certainly be interpreted by the rest of the world, including most Catholics, a lot closer my parody above, no matter how precisely the actual encyclical follows what Fr. Sirico advised us to expect.
It’s also prudent to realize, however, that Pope Francis is also liklye to remind us to use our minds and God-given senses to try to understand how our actions affect others, and to respect the work of those who professionally study this question. At the same time, keep in mind that what most climate researchers are saying is likely to occur is not the catastrophic death and destruction many politicians are peddling,* but changes in temperature and precipitation patterns and severe weather that can exacerbate existing problems like drought, flooding, crop losses, etc. Those future concerns need to be balanced against the present fact that lack of modern amenities including affordable energy leave billions of people vulnerable to exactly those same problems today.
* I was also disappointed recently to see one of my favorite science educators, Dr. Phil Plait of the “Bad Astronomy,” blog compare global warming to a major asteroid impact. *sigh*
I was just listening to Pope Benedict’s interview on @ 2011 many topics, and the environment came up. He spoke about the grave danger he saw, and about how only an institution like the Church could move people to make thesacrifices of more simple living that are necessary to restore balance.
I am very worried because I read what the Pope’s right hand man anti-American Cardinal Maradiaga wrote about the environment:
http://www.casinapioiv.va/content/dam/accademia/pdf/es41/es41-rodriguezmaradiaga.pdf
Dear iamlucky13,
Thank you for your post that focuses on the true challenges of climate change rather than the straw man called “Global Warming”. Let us hope and pray that prudent use of our natural resources combined with technological research that brings modern amenities to those most at risk while leaving a more gentle footprint on the earth can be achieved.