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The necessity for a universal reconciliation that includes nature is clearly seen when we think of startling facts and observations like the following:
- Each day approximately 40,000 children die due to malnutrition. Moreover, many of them are weakened by environmental poisons.
- Millions of children live on the streets. In quite a few countries they are considered as "environmental pollutants" and are therefore "eliminated" by the police or paramilitary forces.
- Former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Gali stated, the next world war could be triggered by the fight for potable water.
- Many rich countries ship their toxic wastes to poor countries, which do not have adequate safety measures; thus the environment is polluted and the health of the people is at risk.
- The ozone layer which, like a skin, protects the earth from harmful radiation, is growing thinner largely because of the waste and exhaust gases from industrial plants and from cars. In Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina, people, plants and animals are already experiencing the adverse affected. Examples of this are the alarming increase in the number of people suffering from skin cancer and the loss of sight among free living animals like hares and sheep.
- Carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" contribute to "global warming". The polar ice caps are melting. As a result, sea levels are rising. Low-lying lands such as Bangladesh and the Pacific islands will sink into the sea. At the same time desert areas are growing. As a consequence, hundreds of millions of people will be displaced from their lands and become "environmental refugees".
Many people today are convinced that the ecological crisis is also a religious crisis which is based, among others, on an incorrect understanding of the creation accounts (Gen 1:1-2,6). God’s telling people that they have dominion over the earth is understood as a license for its unlimited exploitation. In reality, however, it is an invitation to handle it with care, as God’s stewards.
The view that the ecological crisis can be dealt with only through a new understanding of religion was already formulated in the 1960’s. According to L. White, this new insight is best exemplified by Francis, that is why he suggested that he be made Patron Saint of Ecology. In 1979, the suggestion was taken into consideration by the Pope and it became a reality.
The examples of Francis and Clare challenge us to make that harmonious family planned by God a reality. As brothers and sisters, all people and the whole of creation must be reconciled with each other and with God. The forms of enmity, and the fact that these can even exist, are appalling. Wars and violence, hatred, greed and xenophobia show that people are not prepared for love.
In a very special way we are urged by the life and the person of Francis of Assisi to pay attention to all creation. Hans Mislin and Sophie Latour remarked:
At first Francis had the humbling insight, that human creatures are but a small part of a much larger whole. Thus all areas of life are meaningful and justified only in relation to a supernatural, spiritual Reign of God. The Franciscan lifestyle, which acknowledges other living creatures as partners and companions in life, leads to a genuine partnership with all creation and is therefore of special significance to us.
CCFMC, Lesson 12
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