Dignity and Ecology

During his summer vacation Pope Benedict had occasion to connect the gift of nature with each Christian's vocation. At his general audience at Castel Gondolfo last week, the pope said, "From this awareness [as stewards of creation], the Church considers questions linked to the environment and its safeguarding as profoundly linked with the topic of integral human development."

In other words, an individual appreciation of the natural realm together with a desire to ensure others can marvel at and enjoy the natural realm--"to protect it, to obtain benefits and cultivate it"--seek to fulfill each Christian's vocation. The Church, the pope reaffirmed, seeks to help all people profit from the gift of nature.

The pope offered a straightforward way to recognize when ecology and human dignity disconnect: ""inconsiderate use of creation begins where God is marginalized."
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