the first "eco-friendly" youth rally,and noted participants were served on bio-degradable plates, the programs were printed on recycled paper, trees would be planted to reduce the rally's carbon footprint, and the Pope was "intentionally wearing green vestments."
It being Ordinary Time, when every priest wears green vestments, that last caused me not only to snicker, but to doubt the story altogether.
So. Did the Pope give a homily on global warming? Seemed odd, given that one of my spies in Rome claims that B-16 intervened in a Vatican conference on global warming last spring, essentially saying, we will include a wide spectrum of opinion, or we will not hold the conference. Unable to find the homily, however, I decided to reserve judgment.
Here's the homily (scroll to #9082). The theme is not the environment at all, but the New Alliance between God & Man wrought in Christ --and, since they're in a prominent Marian shrine-- with reference to Mary's role:
The heavenly Father, who many times and in many ways, has spoken to man (cfr Heb 1,1), offering his Alliance and often meeting resistance and refusal, wished, in the fullness of time, to bind men to him with a new pact, definitive and irrevocable, sealing it with the blood of his only Son who died and resurrection for the salvation of all mankind.American Papist notes the environmental portion is 162 words of a 2,569 word address (think the journos may have missed the point?). Here are those words:
Jesus Christ, God made man, took on our flesh in Mary, took part in our life, and shared our history. To realize this new alliance, God looked for a young heart and found it in the girl Mary.
Even today, God seeks out young hearts, he is looking for young people with great hearts, capable of making room for him in their life in order to be active players in the New Alliance. In order to welcome a proposal as fascinating as that which Jesus offers us, in order to make an alliance with him, one must be young interiorly, able to let oneself respond to newness, in order to undertake new paths with him.
Jesus has a predilection for young people, as we can well see in his dialog with the rich young man (cfr Mt 19,16-22; Mk 10,17-22). He respects the freedom of youth, but he never tires of proposing to them higher goals in life: the novelty of the Gospel and the beauty of holy conduct.
One of the fields in which it is urgent to work is most definitely that of safeguarding creation. The new generations are responsible for the future of the planet, which shows evident signs of a development that has not always known to preserve the delicate balances of nature.
Before it is too late, we must make courageous choices with a view to a strong alliance between man and the earth.We need a decisive Yes to safeguarding creation and a strong commitment to reverse those tendencies which risk bringing us to a situation of irreversible (environmental) degradation.
That is why I appreciate the initiative of the Italian Church to promote greater sensitivity to the problems of protecting the environment by designating a national day for this purpose on September the first.This year, attention is directed towards water, a most precious asset which, unless it is shared in a just and peaceful way, will become a cause for tensions and bitter conflicts.
Boilerplate Christian stewardship of the earth is what he's talking about --not environmental alarmism. American Papist makes the point well:
Notice that the scope of the stewardship, as I read it, focuses on problems of micro environments, i.e, scarcity of water in certain regions, and a plural reference to the "balances of nature."This isn't the first time the Media have tried to twist the Pope's words into more than they are:
The article also says, "Last month Benedict said the human race must listen to "the voice of the Earth" or risk destroying its very existence." As LSN pointed out, the media is twisting the Pope's words here. First of all, it adds the conclusion "or risk destroying its very existence." He does not say that next. What he actually said next (in its full context) was this:See the important clarification? Concerns for the environment are a subcategory of our more fundamental concerns for man. Where man's interest and nature's interest conflict - man comes first. This is the essential qualifier that the media consistently ignores; and it is also what differentiates qualitatively Christian environmentalism and secular environmentalism."... obedience to the voice of the earth is more important for our future happiness than the voices of the moment, the desires of the moment ... our own planet speaks with us and we should be listening if we want to survive and decipher this message about the earth... and if we should be obedient to the voice of the earth, much more we must be obedient to the voice of human life." (and he goes on to say:) " ... we not only take care of the earth, but we must respect the other, other human beings ... only in absolute respect of other (humans) ...can we make progress."
Remember B16's address to the Swiss bishops that so impressed me? That tells us everything we need to know about the Pope's environmental concerns. He knows how much young hearts are drawn to environmental concerns, and he wishes them to see that the civilization of justice and harmony they crave must be built on love of God & love of man --those are the necessary preconditions for a healthy respect for creation.
Benedict's not joining the secular environmental movement, he's correcting it.
