Viewpoint: Resisting Ecological Conversion

Kenneth Sadler

Source: St. Mary's Cathedral, ABERDEEN

In the introductory section of his landmark social and environmental Encyclical Laudato Si' (LS), Pope Francis observes that resistance to efforts to confront the environmental challenges humanity faces (which have become even more severe since the Encyclical was published in 2015) need not take the form of direct opposition, but can be driven by 'a more general lack of interest': 'Obstructionist attitudes, even on the part of believers, can range from denial of the problem to indifference, nonchalant resignation or blind confidence in technical solutions' (LS 13). Reflecting on these words, we realise that this is indeed the case. Here I would like to consider some reasons why resistance to concrete action to address our environmental crises, most notably the climate emergency, exists 'even on the part of believers'.

One reason is surely that, in an individualistic age, many people can hold to an individualistic or even somewhat selfish conception of their faith: what matters is me and my own relationship with God; I will not be distracted by petty, earthly things! However, this is nothing new: Pope Benedict XVI discusses the issue with insight in his Encyclical on Christian hope, Spe Salvi (SS): he refers to a longstanding perspective that faith can be 'a way of abandoning the world to its misery and taking refuge in a private form of eternal salvation' (SS 13). Yet Benedict goes on to highlight the deep truth that salvation always has a 'social' reality and that the Church Fathers regarded sin as something that destroyed the unity of humanity (SS 14). Besides, the luminous evangelical example of our Saviour Jesus himself in the Gospels shows how any individualistic or selfish 'practice' of faith falls far short of our calling as missionary disciples.

A second, related, reason may be adhering to an overly 'spiritualised' attitude to faith. Sometimes Christians think that, because the goal they yearn for after death is heaven and an eternity of disembodied, ethereal spiritual bliss, what happens to our earth is of no long- term importance; after all, their true destiny is elsewhere. But this idea does not reflect Catholic reality: human beings are not pure spirits like angels (or demons): we are body and soul unities that combine the material and the spiritual. Our ultimate destiny, which we affirm in the Creed at Mass on Sundays and Solemnities, is the Resurrection of the Body; and this Resurrection is at one with the final renewal and glorification of the entire universe, Scripture's 'new heavens and the new earth'. And the fact that God became man in Jesus Christ, the incarnation at the heart of our faith, illustrates the dignity and importance of the physical. In short, matter matters: we are embodied beings living in a beautiful, if fragile physical world - a world which we have a moral duty to care for.

Thirdly, certain Catholics may be wary of fully embracing ecological concern because they see it as a 'leftist' cause; or they may admit that care for the environment has a certain importance but see it as less of a political priority than, say, life issues. But these perspectives ignore the growing prominence and importance of the environment in Catholic Social Teaching since Vatican II and, especially, during the pontificates of John Paul II, Benedict XVI and, of course, Francis. Besides, the devastation that climate breakdown is causing across the world is real and it harms our brothers and sisters across the globe. As SCIAF and its partners in Africa, Asia and Latin American can attest, climate breakdown is happening, and it is killing the poorest people first. The environmental crises we face undermine the very conditions that make this planet habitable for human beings: this is also a life issue - and one unimaginably vast in its potential consequences.

Perhaps the biggest reason for resistance to ecological awareness and action among believers is the same as for nonbelievers: to embrace them is to embrace the necessity for change, for us to develop 'new convictions, attitudes and forms of life' (LS 202). Breaking out of long-established habits and ways of living, even destructive and damaging ones like extreme consumerism and radical individualism, can be hard, especially when these customs and attitudes seem like normal aspects of our existence. Yet it can be done: 'while capable of the worst, [human beings] are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start, despite their mental and social conditioning' (LS 205).

In face of the environmental threats facing humanity, both believers and nonbelievers, individuals and communities are called to ecological conversion. We all need to reach a new way of living, one that frees us from the empty, transient pleasures of obsessive consumption and hedonism, treads lightly on the planet, and helps us to live in fraternity with others. As Christians, let us recognise the created world as God's great gift. Let our recognition of God's astonishing generosity inflame our hearts with an ardent desire to overcome our selfishness and greed. When we live, with humility and realism, in harmony with creation, then we can live at peace with ourselves, with others and with God. Such an ecological conversion is true liberation (LS 223).

Kenneth Sadler is Coordinator of St Mary's Cathedral Aberdeen Justice and Peace Group