Ecological video message of Pope Benedict XVI to the UN

The governments of states with fortitude have to protect the precious gift of Creation! With such an appeal Pope Benedict XVI in a special video message addressed the participants of a UN summit in New York on the issues of climate change. The Holy Father stressed the necessity of providing by the “international community and separate governments correct pointers to their citizens for effective prevention of the exhaustion of the environment.” The Earth is the precious gift of the Creator, which during the planning of harmony of its ecological systems gave for us the principles to which we have to adhere as the faithful administrators of God’s creation.” The Pope also paid regard of the participants of the ecological summit of the UN on his last encyclical of Caritas in Veritate, in which is underlined “the necessity of renewed solidarity” (49) which must carry a complex character: from the interpersonal dimension up to the responsibility for coming generations and the natural environment. At the same time the Pontific underlined that the “Guard of environment, resources, and climate, obligate all accountable for the fate of the international society to operate jointly, in obedience to the legislation and in the spirit of solidarity, first of all, with the most impressive regions of the Earth” (50). Benedict XVI expressed his conviction that due to the combined efforts complete human development will become possible for the good of the modern peoples and coming generations. “This development has to be oriented on the value of love in the truth. Alongside this is necessary to direct the modern model of global development in the direction of greater comprehension for responsibility for the creation, which demands not only vital ecological issues of the day but also the disgraceful phenomenon of hunger and poverty.” At the end the Holy Father called the participants of the UN summit to a brave and constructive discussion. All the people were called to the “responsible management of creation and to use resources in a way so that each person and the whole society can live deservingly,” and also to develop the union between man and environment, “which has to be the reflection of the creative love of God.”

Informational service
Bureau of the UGCC on the questions of ecologyї