Preach it Frank!!
We revive this project today by looking at Paragraphs 53-59 which deal with the weakness of our responses to the ecological crisis our world faces. Many Christians in the West find this language uncomfortable, and are even unable to appreciate this document because of this. I understand that it's unpleasant for people to hear that we, as a society that consumes excessively, and embraces a throwaway culture, have our share of the blame around the state of the earth today, but I'm still left with one haunting question: " In our personal life, when we realize that we've done something to hurt others, do we deny that we were ever guilty of such an awful thing, or do we try to address the harm we've caused?" I can't say for certain how most people would answer this, but I feel the 'passing of the buck' is much more common than assuming responsibility for our actions. Perhaps the inability to face the blame is one of the reasons so many are angered by such language.
But one of the reasons I believe Francis is so vocal on this issue, is that he understands with all his heart that if we claim to be one single human family, the globalization of indifference to the suffering of others is unacceptable. (my paraphrase of the end of paragraph 52). And Yet, not only does this indifference exist, but it appears to be rampant among many of the economic and political leaders in our world. I believe, this is what inspires Francis at the beginning of paragraph 53 to refer to the crying out of our Sister Earth for the second time in this document (as he did in Paragraph 2). The only difference is, this time, the crying is much louder, as our Sister the Earth is joined in her cries by all those who suffer with her, the poor and marginalized whose lives have been destroyed by dramatic climate changes around our world. The shared suffering of humanity with creation (57) is one of the recurring themes in this document for Francis. It almost seems to become for him a point which he hopes will galvanize more people into living lives that are more oriented towards justice and harmony with all aspects of creation.
Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have much hope that we're ready for this culture rooted in care for creation and for each other (54-57): " We lack leadership capable of striking out on new paths and meeting the needs of the present...". As difficult as it may be to hear this, I also do see a glimmer of hope there. All Francis is doing is stating 'this is what the world needs. It doesn't have it right now. Let's make sure we do everything possible to ensure other generations will see this."In a way, he is recognizing that there are more barriers than there is hope for now,(54) but that in the end, hope is stronger than any of our greatest barriers and limitations! This is a lesson that is hard to learn, especially with the 'superficial rhetoric, and sporadic acts of philanthropy' that fill our world, which while pleasant on the surface, achieves so little. Even in the face of positive changes in our world, there seems to be so little success in changing the culture's harmful habits of excessive consumption (55-56).
I must confess, this whole passage is hard to read, especially on Earth day! And it only gets worse as Francis explores where the priorities of many of those in power really are, and how, despite the outstanding things taking place at grass root and federal level around the world, there continues to be much resistance to environmental action that may interfere with profit. (57)
And then there are places like the Ignatius center in Guelph, where I work as a spiritual director. They call it 'A Place of Peace', but it could also be considered a place of hope as well, with all the work being done on the property around ecological restoration (through the Old Growth forest project) and organic farming. Francis would be proud of this Jesuit ministry! And we should be proud of how he carries on with so much hope despite the sobering reality of our crisis. Indeed, true to his passion for hope, he does dedicate a paragraph in this section to talk about countless other examples of positive ecological work done around the world. (58). I've come to expect that from him in this document: this ability to balance a realistic view of things along with that glimmer of hope that can’t be extinguished! His relentless sense of hope around our ecological crisis is one of the reasons why many prominent (non Catholic) leaders of the field are paying attention to this document! And he certainly makes up for more gloomy picture previously painted with a superb hopeful statement at the end of 58: "For all our limitations, gestures of generosity, solidarity and care cannot but well up within us, since we were made for love."
Many others would have left it there. Many would rather not read anything else but phrases like these! But he won't let us dwell in some state of hopeful consolation. He wants us to be challenged by the reality that false hope can become a barrier too, when it leads to complacency and cheerful recklessness. No, the purpose of hope is that it leads to courage and wisdom: Courage to act boldly, in a matter fitting to the gravity of this situation; Wisdom to face our ecological debt to the global south and to respond to that debt not with sorrow, but with hope, and creativity. Such is his invitation to us. Let us pray we have the spiritual gifts to answer it!
Blessings on your Friday, and weekend!
Br Dan.
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