Fr Donal Dorr
Pope Francis, in his encyclical letter on the environment, Laudato Si’, makes a passionate appeal to us to protect the fragile Earth and the poorest of people. He warns us that our call to be protectors of God’s creation “is not an optional or a secondary aspect of Christian faith”. He says that prayerful holy people who remain passive on ecological issues need what he calls “an ecological conversion” (paragraph 217).
One way of putting this ecological conversion into practice is to insist that our politicians have strong clear environmental policies, along the lines proposed by Trócaire. In the following I have spelled out some challenging questions which we can put to the politicians who come to our doors looking for our votes in the general election:
1. Do you (and your party) have a clear and detailed policy on the environment? If so, what is it?
2. We know that the increasing climate change will soon cause even more serious problems of floods and storms in Ireland and disastrous drought in other parts of the world. So will you insist that the next Government adopts practical environmental policies to implement the present fine promises to reduce our output of the gases which cause climate change?
3. We know that Moneypoint coal-fired power-station and Bord na Móna’s turf-burning electricity-generating stations are contributing hugely to climate change. So, will you insist that the next government closes them down quickly and provides re-training and decent jobs for those who are working in them at present.
4. Are you willing to demand that the next government will provide sufficient money to people – especially to poor people – to insulate their homes thoroughly so that they will need far less oil, gas, or coal to heat their houses?
5. Will you insist that the next Government invests heavily in public transport and subsidises its use in order to reduce the use of private cars?
6. Will you support a government policy of enabling individuals and local communities to generate electricity in an ecologically respectful manner and to sell surplus energy into the national electricity grid?
7. We know that fracking can cause serious environmental pollution and that it is essential that most reserves of fossil fuel be left in the ground. So, will you insist that the next Government bans fracking in Ireland?
8. Will you insist that the next Government puts in place robust legislation to protect our rivers and lakes from pollution by toxic chemicals or run-off from nitrate fertiliser – and that they will enforce these strict laws?
9. And we know that cattle belch out large amounts of methane gas which is very damaging to the environment. So are you willing to challenge the next Government not to increase the number of cattle in Ireland, despite pressure from farmers’ organisations and from the meat-processing companies? And do you support a policy of people at home and abroad reducing their consumption of meat?
10. Will you (and your party) ensure that Ireland contributes generously to the “Climate Change Fund” to enable poorer countries develop in a way that respects the environment?
By challenging politicians to protect the environment we are putting our Christian faith into practice and responding in a realistic way to the appeal of Pope Francis to care for God’s creation.
It is quite shocking that in the TV debate between the seven political leaders none of them had anything to say about the crucial issue of the environment. So it is very important that we challenge them on this issue. By doing so we are putting our Christian faith into practice and responding in a realistic way to the appeal of Pope Francis to care for God’s creation.
Fr Donal Dorr, a missionary and theologian, is the author of several books on spirituality, justice, and the environment. He has served as a consultor to the Vatican Justice and Peace Commission.