4. In 1971, eight years after Pacem in Terris, Blessed Pope Paul VI referred to the ecological concern as “a tragic consequence” of unchecked human activity: “Due to an ill-considered exploitation of nature, humanity runs the risk of destroying it and becoming in turn a victim of this degradation”.[2] He spoke in similar terms to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations about the potential for an “ecological catastrophe under the effective explosion of industrial civilization”, and stressed “the urgent need for a radical change in the conduct of humanity”, inasmuch as “the most extraordinary scientific advances, the most amazing technical abilities, the most astonishing economic growth, unless they are accompanied by authentic social and moral progress, will definitively turn against man”.[3]
5. Saint John Paul II became increasingly concerned about this issue. In his first Encyclical he warned that human beings frequently seem “to see no other meaning in their natural environment than what serves for immediate use and consumption”.[4] Subsequently, he would call for a global ecological conversion.[5] At the same time, he noted that little effort had been made to “safeguard the moral conditions for an authentic human ecology”.[6] The destruction of the human environment is extremely serious, not only because God has entrusted the world to us men and women, but because human life is itself a gift which must be defended from various forms of debasement. Every effort to protect and improve our world entails profound changes in “lifestyles, models of production and consumption, and the established structures of power which today govern societies”.[7] Authentic human development has a moral character. It presumes full respect for the human person, but it must also be concerned for the world around us and “take into account the nature of each being and of its mutual connection in an ordered system”.[8] Accordingly, our human ability to transform reality must proceed in line with God’s original gift of all that is.[9]
In too many instances morality as defined in the USA is about virginity. That is not the definition of morality that applies to the whole person or the society in which they are member. A society that exists today in the USA is comprised of a financial majority of people without the ability to improve their quality of life beyond a certain point. The financial minority holds enormous wealth and the power to keep it without contributing to the greater society and common good. As a result the poverty level in the USA has grown. There are places in the USA with abject poverty with no hope for any change for generations, if at all.
Pope Francis refers to "Authentic human development." The church expects the human being to follow a path of moral development as well as cognitive ability to greed at any cost.
5. Saint John Paul II became increasingly concerned about this issue. In his first Encyclical he warned that human beings frequently seem “to see no other meaning in their natural environment than what serves for immediate use and consumption”.[4] Subsequently, he would call for a global ecological conversion.[5] At the same time, he noted that little effort had been made to “safeguard the moral conditions for an authentic human ecology”.[6] The destruction of the human environment is extremely serious, not only because God has entrusted the world to us men and women, but because human life is itself a gift which must be defended from various forms of debasement. Every effort to protect and improve our world entails profound changes in “lifestyles, models of production and consumption, and the established structures of power which today govern societies”.[7] Authentic human development has a moral character. It presumes full respect for the human person, but it must also be concerned for the world around us and “take into account the nature of each being and of its mutual connection in an ordered system”.[8] Accordingly, our human ability to transform reality must proceed in line with God’s original gift of all that is.[9]
In too many instances morality as defined in the USA is about virginity. That is not the definition of morality that applies to the whole person or the society in which they are member. A society that exists today in the USA is comprised of a financial majority of people without the ability to improve their quality of life beyond a certain point. The financial minority holds enormous wealth and the power to keep it without contributing to the greater society and common good. As a result the poverty level in the USA has grown. There are places in the USA with abject poverty with no hope for any change for generations, if at all.
Pope Francis refers to "Authentic human development." The church expects the human being to follow a path of moral development as well as cognitive ability to greed at any cost.
