Chai Brady
Pope Francis A move announced by Pope Francis that could see crimes against the environment made a sin have been widely welcomed, with some saying it may “resonate” with Catholics who might not have “awakened to the crisis”.
Speaking to a group of lawyers last week, Pope Francis said that the Church is contemplating the introduction of “ecological sin” to the compendium of its teaching.
Bro. Anthony Keane OSB of Glenstal Abbey in Limerick told The Irish Catholic that “it is so serious a thing, that the sternest approach may well be good”.
“I think it will find a resonance in our old theological training, we were all brought up on sin and damnation and punishment for sins and so on.”
“This declaration of crimes against the environment being sinful will address things like that recent deal that Europe did with Mercosur to allow so many thousands of tons of beef – South American beef, Brazilian beef in particular – into Europe. That was a market signal to go and burn the jungle or the forest,” he added.
Creation
Jane Mellett, Laudato Si’ Officer of Church-charity Trócaire also welcomed the Pope’s statement, saying that in the past the Faithful might have “viewed ecological work in terms of creation as an optional extra”.
She said: “He’s being very clear that this is an urgent crisis and the Church is fully committed to playing her part and this is one of the next steps.
“He’s really inviting everybody to examine their own personal relationship with creation, and he’s using very strong language around it. Lives are at stake. When we damage the earth we damage people in future generations. I’m not surprised he made that statement to be honest, it’s a spiritual issue, it’s a resource issue.”
However, social commentator Susan Phillips, a member of the Church of Ireland, was less convinced. She said that the issue of environmental protection is “very popular at the moment” and that “we don’t have to make this our only issue, there’s much more important things”.
Francis was speaking to the 20th World Congress of the International Association of Penal Law, held in Rome from November 13-16, under the scope of ‘Criminal Justice and Corporate Business’.
During his address he denounced the “ecocide” that corporations “are usually responsible for”.
Describing the term ‘ecocide’, he said it’s a “massive contamination of the air, of the land and water resources, large-scale destruction of flora and fauna, and any action capable of producing an ecological disaster or destroying an ecosystem”.