Catholic Social Teaching

Care for creation began to emerge as a central social concern for the Catholic church in the late 1980s.  In 1990, Pope John Paul II dedicated his annual World Day of Peace message to ecology, stating that world peace is threatened by a lack of due respect for nature.  The next year the US bishops restated his assertion that the environmental crisis is a moral issue in Renewing the Earth: An invitation to reflection and action on the environment in light of Catholic social teaching.  In 1998, the US bishops wrote:

“We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation.  Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith.  We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation.  This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.”  (Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, 1998)

Environmental concerns cannot, however, be separated from the other central social teachings.  They are integrally related to all the principles by which we live.  Human dignity requires access to clean air, clean water and natural areas in which to pray and encounter God.  The option for the poor demands we address the fact that environmental degradation disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable members of our society.  Solidarity reminds us our resource consumption has impacts around the globe.

In the Resource Center:

And God Saw That It Was Good: Catholic Theology and the Environment, edited by Drew Christiansen and Walter Grazier. Published in 1996 by the US Catholic Conference.

Learn more:

Renewing the Earth: An Invitation to Reflection and Action on Environment in Light of Catholic Social Teaching, a pastoral letter of the US Bishops.  Released in 1991 by the US Catholic Conference.