We continue to reflect on Pope Francis' take on bio diversity (par. 38-42).
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One of the most difficult, yet exciting thing about Francis is that he won't back away from challenging the faithful and people of good will. He's never afraid to invite all of us to take an honest look at our lives: the way we pray, the way we live, our strengths, but also our weaknesses as dwellers and co created creatures on this planet ( a very Ignatian trait of his!).   We saw this in paragraph 36 of Laudato Si, when he reminded us how silent we can be before the injustices of our world, injustices that are rooted in our propensity to put our benefits ahead of the well being of not only our neighbors, but also future generations, and really... all of creation. Addressing those injustices is the best response we can offer to his invitation to care for our common home.

Of course, sometimes, simply caring is not enough. And this is the core of most ecological messages from any specialist or scientist nowadays,a message this pope embraces:We need to join the ongoing efforts around the world to protect the fragile biodiversity of our planet(LS 37)especially in places that safeguard forms of life like 'those richly biodiverse lungs of our planet which are the Amazon and the Congo basins".(LS 38) While these may be sound like far, remote places to many in the West, the ecological importance of the ecosystems in the Congo Basin and the Amazon can not be underestimated...and neither can the destruction currently going on there.

As we've discussed before on this blog, Pope Francis, true to his Ignatian charism,doesn't stay on the gloom and doom of the situation. He openly praises the "commitment of international agencies and civil society organizations which draw public attention to these issues and offer critical cooperation" to governments struggling to deal with the demand from international corporations who are interested in big dollar signs, and not the survival of the ecosystem.

And their work (especially that of Organizations like Avaaz and Greenpeace) is indeed a source of hope in this world because they focus on explaining to us events going on half way around the world that should inspire us to take actions. These are usually events that may seem innocuous and irrelevant to us, or events that we may feel powerless to act upon. And yet through their work, we can speak out against corporations and governments that (for example) replace 'the virgin forest with plantation trees...(which) compromise a biodiversity" (LS 39)

However,even such important organizations as these face an uphill battle when it comes to actually impacting change, partly because many are reluctant to embrace change that will alter their lifestyle, but also because many of the organisms affected by our nefarious actions and indifference are in fact often overlooked (40)(it's hard to put up a fight for something that we can't really see or touch, a fact pro life activists face daily) But organisms like "phytoplankton -- which form the base of ocean food chains -- have declined 40 percent since 1950." 

Francis takes the trouble to remind us that the devastation is indeed not limited to forests, but spreads to seas, and to coral reefs which "shelter approximately a million species."( 41)The sad reality of the state of coral reefs today was captured in a poignant question by the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines in a pastoral letter in 1988:“Who turned the wonderworld of the seas into underwater cemeteries bereft of colour and life?” Francis returns to this point about how everything is connected: Since all of creation is connected together through life, then through death, destruction and pollution, it will remain connected. The reason why we see images like the one below in our world today, is because of "pollution which reaches the sea as the result of deforestation, agricultural monocultures, industrial waste and destructive fishing methods.

source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Coral/

So...now that we have the bleak picture, what's our responsibility in all this mess? Yes, of course, caring for our common home, but also, being more in communion with it, so that we can understand any significant modifications of the environment (42) caused by the actions, or inactions of our corporate and political leaders. While this problem may seem overwhelming and we may feel powerless before such an invitation, Francis makes it less daunting for us: "Each area is responsible for the care of this family. This will require undertaking a careful inventory of the species which it hosts, with a view to developing programmes and strategies of protection with particular care for safeguarding species heading towards extinction." (42) To put it differently: Imagine if in every community across the world, there would be a few Catholics, people of faith, and people of good will that would get together and take the Pope's words to heart...that they would begin start to actively care about the biodiversity found in their own neighborhoods and communities. Can you just begin to imagine the impact this would have? I'm not even talking about creating a new generation of tree hugging hippies. I'm talking about creating a generation of Catholics and others that will celebrate their faith by becoming more attentive to, and caring towards the world they live in. We should of course remain concerned and educated about the devastation going on around the world. But in terms of practical steps to take...perhaps we really should begin with taking care of creation that is around us. A sensible invitation, one I hope to take to heart a little more in the week and months to come!!