Last week I wrote about the rise of what I called, for lack of a better term, a “pro-life environmentalism.” I argued that this movement, which is arising amongst a generation of younger religious conservatives, is a positive thing, striking, as it does, a healthy balance between the anti-human, pro-population control ideology of the eco-extremists, and a grasping and inhuman materialism that pays no heed whatsoever to the effects of human activities on nature.
I hope to explore this topic (particularly how it ties in to pro-life issues) further and in a more formal setting in the future, but for now will simply point out that the timing of my article last week was somewhat uncanny. The day after it was published, Pope Benedict issued a series of strongly worded remarks, in which he promoted what he called a “human ecology.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time that the pope has spoken about the pressing need to take steps to protect the environment – there is a reason he has become known as the “green pope.” But they were some of his strongest words to date.
While there is plenty of room for disagreement with him on the issue (even for Catholics the pope’s remarks on something like the environment are far from being “infallible”), I think we would do well to listen to the core of his message. At the very least, I would hope that his emphasis on the environment would give pause to those who would accuse anyone who spends time thinking about environmental issues as simply one of a kind with any other anti-human, secular environmentalist.
As reported by Independent Catholic News, the pope said:
“Human ecology”, he emphasized, “is an imperative. Adopting a lifestyle that respects our environment and supports the research and use of clean energies that preserve the patrimony of creation and that are safe for human beings should be given political and economic priority”.
The Pope highlighted that “a change in mentality” is necessary in order to “quickly arrive at a global lifestyle that respects the covenant between humanity and nature, without which the human family risks disappearing…. Every government must commit themselves to protecting nature and assisting it to carry out its essential role in the survival of humanity. The United Nations seem to be the natural framework for this type of reflection, which should not be obscured by blindly partisan political or economic interests in order to give preference to solidarity over particular interests”.
…Benedict noted that “it is urgent that we match technology with a strong ethical dimension. … Technology should help nature develop along the lines envisioned by the Creator. In working together, the researcher and the scientist adhere to God’s plan that desired humanity as the apex and the administrator of creation. Solutions based on this principle will protect human life and its vulnerability, as well as the rights of the present and future generations”.
While I have my serious reservations about using the UN as a vehicle for anything at all, given the preponderance of anti-Christian, anti-life bureaucrats who haunt its halls, the pope’s fundamental point – the need to conscientiously take steps to protect nature – merits further reflection. Far from being opposed to pro-life, what he is pointing to is that an ordered concern for nature (i.e. one that sees man as the apex of creation, which has been given the task of intelligent stewardship), is one of a piece with it.
But more on that later…