In 2015, Pope Francis published his second (of so far three) encyclical called Laudato Si. The first encyclical was actually started by Pope Benedict, so it was not entirely chosen by Pope Francis. In Laudato Si, Pope Francis talks extensively about climate change and the dangers to the planet and people. He uses very strong language, denouncing many things in our modern society including fossil fuels, various types of development and progress, and more. He even gets into the nitty-gritty by denouncing air conditioners. In one part, the pope says:
The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.
Well, it doesn't seem that he is shying away from exaggeration. It seems he truly believes the earth is in a state of total ruin and we are destroying whatever is left of it.
Of course we are called to protect the Earth and not unreasonably destroy it, but the problem is that people are starting to worship the Earth, to see human beings as some kind of intruders. This attitude is diametrically opposed to our Catholic Faith. According to the Faith, human beings are the pinnacle of God's creation on Earth. We take care of the earth not for the sake of the earth as such, but for our own sake and the sake of future generations. It must be a human-centric approach to the environment.
Unfortunately this is not the message that is conveyed by Pope Francis. He has criticized people for having too many children or for trying to use the resources of the Earth to improve their lives. As usual, he creates a very black and white proposition. Either one is opposed to new technology, fossil fuels, or using the Earth's resources or they are bad people. But things aren't so simple.
For one thing, to say the Earth is getting much worse depends on one's perspective. The Earth and the environment are actually getting much better for humanity. How so? Well, the number of people dying from climate-related reasons is dropping dramatically. Because of fossil fuels and advances in technology, people can "weather" the storm of climate events much better than in the past. From a human-centric point of view, things are improving not getting worse.
On top of this, many factors are improving all the time such as air quality, water quality, and overall quality of life. Another important point is that technology advances in a somewhat predictable way, kind of like rungs on a ladder. If you remove rungs, people don't advance to the higher levels faster, they are prevented from ever getting there.
There was significantly more pollution in our environments during the industrial revolution than now. In the third world, many people cook indoors where huge amounts of soot and smoke fill their meagre homes. Forcing them to adopt solar energy before logically moving onto much cleaner forms of fossil fuels prevents millions of people from escaping their tiny smoke-filled hovels and moving into more modern homes. I see this all the time with aid agencies such as UN agencies. They mandate that in order for a poor country to receive aid, they must immediately implement the latest technology. Of course this technology is extremely expensive and so implementation takes very long and few people benefit. Electricity generated using coal may not be super clean, but it's better than cooking with dung or coal inside one's house.
From a human-centric point of view, it is much better to allow a country to progress naturally than to stunt its growth in order to implement ecofascist rules based on the elevation and possibly worship of the Earth.
Another "emergency" that the Holy Father has latched onto recently is Covid. He has made it the subject of many sermons and appearances. Not only that, many in the Church have taken on the topic of Covid with great zeal and energy. Is it proportionate?
This is a subject I have been blogging about for some time now - the Church's response to Covid. There are many issues I have with it. Overall, I believe the reaction to this coronavirus is completely out of proportion to what it is. I'm not claiming Covid-19 doesn't exist or isn't dangerous, especially to some people, but I just don't think it merits a place of ultimate importance in the Church.
Every day at Church we hear not one but two announcements concerning Covid-19. I wrote about that here. I cannot think of any moral or theological issue which has been discussed to the same degree as Covid by a long shot. To me, it's as if disease and death did not exist until sometime in early 2020 when Covid became a topic of prominence. That's how ridiculous it has become. We not only give instructions, we hear special prayers to those affected by Covid, homilies on Covid, and the whole nine yards.
It's not a question of whether or not Covid should be taken seriously, it's a matter of degree. Should it be given pre-eminent importance over every other issue in the world?
Recently I was reading something by St. Alphonsus Liguori concerning the 4th commandment. He was discussed what constituted sins against the commandment to love our mother and father. He said that in the Old Testament those found guilty of grave offenses against mother and father were put to death. Then St. Alphonsus said something interesting. He said that although we do not now face the death penalty over dishonoring our parents, we potentially face something far worse: eternal damnation.
As a people of God whose home is not this Earth but rather heaven, this should mean something to us. We should not be so overly concerned about this temporal world. We don't dismiss it as if it's not real, but we don't place it as the most important thing in the universe.
I bring this up because during all of these announcements regarding Covid, amidst all the strict regulations we must follow while in Church such as keeping our distance, wearing a mask, not receiving the Blessed Sacrament on the tongue, etc, we rarely if ever hear about sin. We rarely hear about being in a state of Grace, which is a state of Friendship with God Almighty. We hear so much about the temporal passing world, and this one particular disease, but we pay far less attention to something far more dangerous which is sin. Over 99% of people will survive Covid, especially those who are young. Aren't eternal truths far more important?
I remembering reading an account of a priest during a plague outbreak in Europe. During this pandemic which was vastly more dangerous than Covid, some priests would fearlessly attend to their flocks. I will attempt to recall by memory a story I heard recounted from many centuries ago. In the midst of a vast plague that was extremely dangerous, a priest was out looking for people in need of the sacraments. While walking, a man who was assumed to be dead and had been thrown into a pit of corpses (which was to be burned) arose, and upon seeing the priest called out and asked to receive the Last Rites. He was given Viaticum and Extreme Unction. So great was the faith of this man and the priest.
I believe the Church in North America and other places is far too subservient to the state. We must demand absolute autonomy. Why should the Church, instituted by Christ 2000 years ago, bow before the state which ebbs and flows like the tide and is in constant flux, prompted not by love of God, but by political gain. I believe the Church would do a much better job of protecting both the physical safety as well as the spiritual safety of her people.
The Church has a responsibility, in my opinion, to demonstrate that her primary and in fact only obligation is towards the spiritual well being of her people. It must also be shown that spiritual concerns always trump temporal, physical concerns. "You are dust and unto dust you shall return" but our souls are eternal. This is the message which must be strongly promoted.
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