Week Four - Climate Theology

When it comes to Catholic theology, there is one core teaching that has fallen to the background which, in light of human events, needs to be brought to the foreground. It is that of stewardship of the earth. As Catholics we are taught to be stewards of the earth. The earth was created to sustain us and for us to statin and care for it. Most Catholics nowadays though have fallen into the thought pattern of “What can the earth do for me?”. This is only half of what we are taught as Catholics. Yes the earth is meant to be able to sustain us but in return we are supposed to care for it. If we keep taking from it without putting something back, we will end up with nothing left to take from. Where will we be then?

This is the path that we currently are on. We are taking from the resources of our earth without considering the consequences of what we are taking. By taking fossil fuels and burning them we are taking away from the natural cycle of the earth. We are obscuring what God had created the earth to do naturally and that is to heat and cool itself in general cycles.

Our actions can be seen in those less fortunate as well. We are called to care for our fellow brother and sisters less fortunate than us. Those less fortunate than us do not always have the resources or means necessary to combat the changes we are making in our earth. An example would be rise in sea level. Those in developing countries that are at sea level do not necessarily have the means necessary yet to build higher sea walls or relocate their developing cities due to rising flood waters. Yes they too are contributing to sea level rise but who are we to deny them the right to develop and rise their standard of living. It is up to us to help them raise their standards of living as well as using our new technology that we have to lessen its effect on our climate and environment.

It is up to us to combat these injustices seen in our world. We have the power to care for our earth and help those most in need. We can give back to the earth and care for her in the way God intended. We can develop new technology for developing countries to help stop the emission of carbon into our atmosphere. And, we can help those that are most in need while still being able to care for and protect our earth.