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COMMANDMENTS
FOR THE
ENVIRONMENT
Woodeene Koenig-Bricker has done a great service by drawing
together from many sources Pope Benedict's teaching on cre-
ation and environmental responsibility, and showing how
through diplomatic interventions, pastoral initiatives, social
teaching and the engineering of Vatican City itself his papacy is
fully engaged in the green revolution.
Drew Christiansen, S.J.
Editor-in-Chief, America
TEN
COMMANDMENTS
FOR THE
ENVIRONMENT
T HE G REEN P OPE 1
C OMMANDMENTS FOR THE E NVIRONMENT 13
O NE ~U SE , D ON ’ T A BUSE 27
T WO ~L ITTLE L ESS T HAN A G OD 41
T HREE ~O NE FOR A LL , A LL FOR O NE 51
F OUR ~I T ’ S N OT A B RAVE N EW WORLD 65
F IVE ~GAIA I SN ’ T G OD 77
S IX ~W HAT P RICE P ROGRESS ? 89
S EVEN ~F LOWING L IKE A R IVER 101
E IGHT ~W E ’ RE A LL IN THE SAME B OAT 115
NINE~DISCIPLINE IS NOT A FOUR-LETTER WORD 125
T EN ~I T ’ S A LL G IFT 135
N OTES 141
THE
GREEN
POPE
I t’s tantalizing to imagine the moral force and
power of persuasion a green Pope might have
on the world,” pondered the website World
Changing, a global network of secular journalists ded-
icated to finding solutions to the environmental
issues facing the earth, upon the death of Pope John
Paul II in 2004.
Few imagined Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger would
become that Pope.
When he was elected the two-hundred-sixty-sixth
Pope, the world did not anticipate the scholarly
German theologian would spend his years making
what amounts to virtual campaign speeches on the
need for clean water, solar energy, and the reduction
of CO2 emissions. Much to the surprise of fans and
foes alike, the man who was once seen as “God’s
Rottweiler” has quietly, with passionate resolve,
spread a message that seems more in keeping with an
environmental scientist than a spiritual leader: “Save
the planet!”
Perhaps realizing that at his age, he had little time
to waste, the Holy Father even spoke about the envi-
ronment in his homily at the inauguration of his
papacy:
The external deserts in the world are growing,
because the internal deserts have become so
1
T E N C O M M A N D M E N TS FOR THE E N V I RO N M E N T
3
T E N C O M M A N D M E N TS FOR THE E N V I RO N M E N T
A Candid Appeal
4
THE GREEN POPE
5
T E N C O M M A N D M E N TS FOR THE E N V I RO N M E N T
7
T E N C O M M A N D M E N TS FOR THE E N V I RO N M E N T
8
THE GREEN POPE
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T E N C O M M A N D M E N TS FOR THE E N V I RO N M E N T
10
COMMANDMENTS
FOR THE
ENVIRONMENT
I t might be argued that Catholic social teaching
began just before the Ascension. After cooking a
breakfast of fish and bread, Jesus was enjoying
what was presumably a lovely spring morning with
his disciples when he asked Peter a significant ques-
tion: “Do you love me?” He asked not once, not twice,
but three times, responding to Peter’s increasing dis-
tress by reiterating the command to “Feed my sheep”
(Jn 21:15–19).
While those words have been given the metaphor-
ical meaning of providing spiritual nourishment and
leadership to Christian followers, there may be a liter-
al meaning contained in them as well. Drawing from
and building on the Jewish traditions of caring for the
widowed and orphans, Catholic teaching has always
given precedence to helping the less fortunate, the so-
called “preferential option for the poor.” Rooted in the
biblical concept of justice, this teaching is not limited
to those who lack economic goods, but extends to all
who are deprived or vulnerable, calling on both indi-
viduals and social institutions to provide for the com-
mon good through an equitable distribution of the
world’s resources.
Over the past two thousand years, the Church has
cared for the less fortunate in many ways, both for-
mally and informally. However, what we understand
today as the official principles of Catholic social
13
T E N C O M M A N D M E N TS FOR THE E N V I RO N M E N T
16
C O M M A N D M E N TS FOR THE E N V I RO N M E N T
17
T E N C O M M A N D M E N TS FOR THE E N V I RO N M E N T
A Unified Vision
19
T E N C O M M A N D M E N TS FOR THE E N V I RO N M E N T