VATICAN (CNS): So many species and habitats are destroyed “when our conduct and treatment of nature gets abusive,” said Peter Cardinal Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Therefore, “for ethical, moral and theological reasons, it is incumbent upon us to safeguard the biodiversity on earth.”
Cardinal Turkson and Jane Goodall, primatologist and anthropologist, were the two keynote speakers on April 20 at a webinar on biodiversity organised by the dicastery and the Vatican Covid-19 Commission’s ecology taskforce and held in partnership with numerous other Church-based and nonprofit organisations.
Coming ahead of Earth Day, which was on April 22, the webinar was meant to help inspire and point the way forward for parishes, individuals and communities in preparation for the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in October.
The United Nations Global Biodiversity Report for 2020 highlighted the importance of preserving biodiversity as part of addressing climate change, providing long-term food security and preventing future pandemics.
It is critical that people from all segments of society come together to act, and Pope Francis’ teachings in Laudato Si’ must be “amplified” as they offer valuable insights on the need for sustaining “life-giving relationships,” the dicastery said in a webinar press release.
It is critical that people from all segments of society come together to act, and Pope Francis’ teachings in Laudato Si’ must be “amplified” as they offer valuable insights on the need for sustaining “life-giving relationships,” the dicastery said in a webinar press release.
Sacred scripture emphasises the sacredness of human life and all of creation, Cardinal Turkson said.
But God’s gift of biodiversity is being destroyed, he said, along with the lives and dignity of human beings, which depend on healthy ecosystems.
“This constitutes a huge ecological debt for us. The costs of the damage caused by human exploitation of nature are much greater than the economic benefits that are obtained,” the cardinal said.
Goodall said that ecosystems are like a giant “tapestry of life,” and with the extinction of each species, a hole is torn in that fabric.
“As more and more holes are torn, as these species become extinct with horrifying rapidity,” she said, “in the end we are going to be left with the tapestry so torn that the ecosystem will collapse.”
She asked, “How is it possible that the most intellectual creature to ever walk on this planet is destroying its only home?”
She stressed that solar, wind and tidal energy must be utilised more, and intensive single-crop agriculture must be phased out, replaced with small-scale regenerative farming that protects the soil and pollinating insects.
She called for people to change their “unsustainable lifestyle” and start questioning where products come from and how they are produced, including how workers are treated and compensated.
“Companies wake up” and change when there is pressure from consumers, she said.
Goodall said that people must be given the tools and power to pull themselves out of poverty, which is what drives them toward unsustainable and exploitative practices in a desperate bid to survive. Helping extend children’s education, providing micro-financing for environmentally sustainable businesses, restoring land fertility and better water management are part of a holistic approach to helping nature and communities.
She stressed that solar, wind and tidal energy must be utilised more, and intensive single-crop agriculture must be phased out, replaced with small-scale regenerative farming that protects the soil and pollinating insects.
Goodall said that wildlife markets and factory farming must end, not only because of their inefficient use of water, transport and crops, but also because of the horrific conditions they create for often intelligent creatures, who all feel terror and pain,
Referring to Matthew 10:29, which says no sparrow “falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge,” she said that if “God notices when one single sparrow dies. I wonder what God thinks of what we’re doing, the unbelievable suffering we’re causing all these millions of sentient beings around the world.”
Goodall said, however, that she has a lot of hope because of what science and technology are able to achieve in mitigating environmental damage and because of the drive shown by so many young people and organisations around the world.
She added that Pope Francis “and his stand on the environment really has made a big difference” and the other religions, too, “are beginning to talk about the environment more and more.”
Cardinal Turkson said the Church wants to help raise awareness and promote “ecological citizenship” with everyone understanding their dependence on and duty toward all of creation.
The webinar reminded Catholics to get involved with Laudato Si’ Week to be held from May 16 to 24.
