Saturday, December 23, 2006

Advancing Ecological Justice


Christianity Getting Greener (appearing here on 20 Dec 2006) described the efforts toward ecological justice by the highest leaders of the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox churches.

On 22 Dec the Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus sent notice that the Society of Jesus has been at work on the same mult-faceted issue. The brief news release follows.
Jesuits Release Document Advocating Ecological Justice

In November, the Jesuits released a plan defining sustainable development to advance what many church leaders are calling "ecological justice." It calls for the use of renewable resources, re-use, recycling, and restoration of nature. It also urges economic policies that take into account human and environmental costs of production. According to the plan, buildings at Jesuit institutions ought to meet high standards of sustainability.

The idea of creating a plan for regional development came from the Colombian Jesuits, who are involved in several collaborative projects with the Oregon province, including a coffee company that uses organic farming practices and pays a living wage to its farmers. Jesuits in Rome and the US, among other places, have also called for environmental stewardship.

"We believe the mandate for Catholics is clear: to become fully informed of the magnitude and seriousness of the problem, to acknowledge our interdependence and our responsibility for the well-being of others, and to work for lasting change that will benefit all within the community of life," the task force wrote. [Source: The Catholic Sentinel, 16 November 2006]

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by willgame; permission to use according to Creative Commons License Deed Attribution 2.5

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