Pope Benedict Goes Green

Pope Benedict XVI seems to be going green. The pontiff, head of the Catholic Church, issues a new encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth). An encyclical is a letter addressing some aspect of Catholic doctrine from the Pope to bishops and the general public. This latest encyclical, issued July 7, includes most noteworthy a call for sustainable development. "The Church has a responsibility towards creation..when "human ecology"is respected within society, environmental ecology also benefits." (p.51).

Chapter Four of Caritas in Veritate is a direct discourse on environmental issues, providing a theological argument for "creation care":

"Today the subject of development is also closely related to the duties arising from our relationship to the natural environment. The environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole." (p.48)

"The fact that some States, power groups and companies hoard non-renewable energy resources represents a grave obstacle to development in poor countries. Those countries lack the economic means either to gain access to existing sources of non-renewable energy or to finance research into new alternatives... The international community has an urgent duty to find institutional means of regulating the exploitation of non-renewable resources, involving poor countries in the process, in order to plan together for the future." (p.49)

"The way humanity treats the environment influences the way it treats itself, and vice versa. " (P. 51)

These arguments show a very firm grasp of many issues facing not only the community of nation states, but also business. Pope Benedict in this encyclical makes it clear that the Catholic Church is for sustainability, renewable energy and responsible allocation of resources throughout the world. To read the full text, please click here.