WEB Lent and the Cli.. - St Columbans Mission Society

Climate Challenge Lent 2008
Turn back with all your heart – Lent is the time to
look deep into ourselves. Common Lenten words are
conversion, turning-back, self-discipline, penance: all
parts of renewing our faith. This culminates with a
new commitment to Jesus Christ, the Easter light to
the nations. Pope Benedict XIV, speaking on St
Augustine at an Audience January 2008, said,
The presence of God in man is deep and at
the same time mysterious. It can however be
discovered and recognized deep down in
oneself … The person who is distant from
God is also distant from oneself, estranged
from oneself.
Prophecy and Climate Change – – Lent is the time
to listen to the prophets. As the framework for his
book A Moral Climate: the ethics of global warming
(Orbis Books, 2007) Scottish cleric Michael S.
Northcott weaves together the prophetic tradition and
scientific findings on human induced climate change.
Just as the prophets pointed to the consequences of
tuning away from Yahweh Northcott explores the
consequences as climate change kicks in: the result
of distorted human ideas about the universe, society,
politics and economics - ’moral myopia’.
Earth as Prophet - In our times Earth has shown
itself as loudly prophetic. Hurricane Katrina was
prophetic in showing up the consequences for New
Orleans of human arrogance – local arrogance in
clearing the mangroves and cutting canals thus
opening the city to disaster; global arrogance in
increasing greenhouse gases that heat shallow
waters like the Gulf of Mexico thus increasing the
intensity of hurricanes. Other voices of prophet Earth
are the melting of ice in the Arctic waters; the rapid
decline of glaciers in the Himalayas and Andes which
feed rivers that support billions of people. Earth’s
prophetic messages are a source of prayerful
reflection inviting us to resituate ourselves in relation
to other people and to Earth’s rhythms.
Conversion and Care for Earth – When Pope John
Paul II called for ‘ecological conversion’ he asserted
the positive role of Earth in the Christian Story –
salvation, revelation, incarnation, sacramental signs,
mysticism and the promise of life to the full. Large
sections of the Catholic Catechism (1992) and
Catholic Social Teaching (2002) name
environmental care as integral to faith. Pope
Benedict XVI in his Peace Day Message 2007,
Before it is too late, it is necessary to make
courageous decisions that reflects knowing
how to re-create a strong alliance between
humanity and the earth. In 2008 he named
Earth the human family’s common home.
Compassion and the Climate Challenge – The
human face of suffering extends from the Australian
farmers and their families and communities to our
Pacific neighbors whose homes are literally being
swamped under rising seas. They need our
compassion. A new twist is compassion for Earth
itself. It is being precipitously pushed into a new
stage of evolution and loosing millions of its species.
in a profound sense the earth is suffering
(Hos 4:3) and the greenhouse effect has now
reached crisis proportions as a consequence
of industrial growth, massive urban
concentrations and vastly increased energy
needs … He continued, no peaceful society
can afford to neglect either respect for life or
the fact that there is an integrity to creation.
Pope John Paul II, 1990 Peace Day Message
Australian bishops and Climate Change - The
Australian Catholic bishops established Catholic
Earthcare Australia (CEA) in 2002 as their agency
on environmental matters. In November 2005 CEA
ran a three day Conference on Climate Change and
presented a position paper calling for a pastoral
response to a sign of the times. More than 300
international and local scientists, theologians,
activists, lay and clerical, secular and ecumenical
gathered (papers www.catholicearthcareoz.net).
Principles for Climate Action – Draw on existing
church social teaching principles:
• the right of all people to a safe environment,
• consider the common good,
• dismantle the social structures of sin,
• authentic not super development,
• the precautionary principle,
• preferential option for the poor
• the rights of future generations,
• fair distribution of climate abatement costs,
• solidarity with developing countries by
sharing modern technology,
• welcome environmental refugees, and
• preserving earth community’s bio-diversity.

Climate language and Lenten language - The
language of ecology resonates easily with Catholics -
community, mutuality, inter-connectedness. Learning
the language of climate change brings about a
change in oneself. Changing language from jungle to
rainforest and from swamps to wetlands has helped
many people become environmentally aware.
Learning the language of climate systems, levels of
carbon emissions, carbon sinks and the like make it
easy to speak about sustainable energy sources and
to explore options.
Lies and Climate Change - Satan as the fathers of
all lies is one of the strongest condemnations given
by Jesus in the Gospels. Climate-sceptics variously
deny the science, impute base motives to those who
speak out and offer spurious solutions. Confusion
and inaction is their desired outcome. Sadly, they
deliberately play on Christian compassion to peddle
lies – carbon taxes rob the poor; promote ‘scientific’
agriculture in developing nations. Sceptics use false
religious sounding arguments – puny humans cannot
alter God’s providence and cause climate change.
Lent is about truth telling.
RCIA and Climate Conversion - A great gift of the
Second Vatican Council was the revival of the Adult
Catechumenate (RCIA) and it became the touch
stone for church life in many countries like South
Korea. RCIA catechesis listens with spiritual
sensitivity to where ‘inquirers’ to the program are
coming from in their lives. Many will be concerned
about climate change. Addressing their climate
concerns can become both an integral part of the
inquirers journey of conversion and help the
community’s conversion to new understanding.
Listening mission dialogue - The mission task of
Catholics in responding to human induced climate
change begins with prayers for guidance from the
Holy Spirit, the prime agent of mission. And dialogue
is the way to do mission wrote Popes Paul IV and
John Paul II. While Catholics witness to their
tradition, they listen to the Holy Spirit speaking
through world events and people’s movements.
Climate change and the environmental movement
are parts of this speaking. This prompts Lenten
prayer asking for a listening and discerning heart,
and for the humility to learn and make cooperative
responses to Earth/ the Holy Spirit’s climate agenda.
Penance and the Climate Challenge - Knowledge
about the causes and effects of climate change can
be channeled into a revamp of the traditional Friday
penance. Several English Anglican bishops have
suggested Christians go on a carbon diet - a
practical discipline relevant to a pressing modern
issue. People could say to themselves ‘enough’ as
they limited their use of fossil based fuels. At an
inter-faith level, such a revamp would resonate with
Friday as the primary prayer day for Muslims,
creating interfaith solidarity in facing climate change.
Easter and the Climate Challenge – Lent is an
opportune time to re-situate ourselves on earth. In
an age of frantic pace, the Christian tradition of
pilgrimage might remind us to slow down and
simplify our baggage; humbly remember that we are
but pilgrims on earth. Christ is our Easter Light.
The ecological conversion spoken of by Pope John
Paul II will require courage to empty ourselves as
God chose to do by taking flesh in Christ Jesus.
Believers can choose to change life styles and
reconnect with nature's rhythms as one act of self
transformation. Christian communities can become
prophetic microcosms of action and light in facing
the climate challenge.
Climate Challenge Prayer
God, Creator and Sustainer,
free us from ignorance about your gift of Earth.
Inspire us to act together in respect for your
gift and change our ways as we
relate to Earth’s rhythms with humility.
May we welcome the truth when scientists
speak of climate change, and
reject false pathways designed to confuse.
At this point in history, help us to urge our
politicians to take moral decisions and urgent action
in negotiating sustainable living.
Ground all our thoughts in your revealing
Scriptures and the wisdom of holy women and men
who have gone before us to help build the
new creation as followers of your Cosmic Son.
Give us a discerning spirit to work with the
ecological and the human,
the social and the economic realities of this world,
and instill in us a spirit of respect and compassion
able to imagine pathways of harmony. Amen.
Prepared by Fr Charles Rue
Coordinator Columban JPIC Australia
02 9352 8000
c/o ACU, Locked Bag 2002
STRATHFIELD NSW 2135