As you know, Pope Benedict and I don't often see eye to eye, although the word out there is that he is not concerned about my opinion of him.
I wasn't sure what to think after hearing about his New Year's message. He called for respect amongst all peoples, regardless of nationality and colour (religion too?) He expressed concern for the children of the world affected by violence and war. And he offered that peace in our world requires us to also make peace with and protect creation. To these themes I can say yes, yes, and yes. What's not to like here?
The call for respect of the natural world follows up on a December 8th message on World Peace Day entitled "If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation. In it he says
"Respect for creation is of immense consequence, not least because “creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God’s works”, and its preservation has now become essential for the pacific coexistence of mankind. Man’s inhumanity to man has given rise to numerous threats to peace and to authentic and integral human development – wars, international and regional conflicts, acts of terrorism, and violations of human rights. Yet no less troubling are the threats arising from the neglect – if not downright misuse – of the earth and the natural goods that God has given us. For this reason, it is imperative that mankind renew and strengthen “that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying”.
Now if he could use the term "humankind" I would be downright happy.
What do you think of the pope's themes for this year?
2 comments:
I like the term "creative love". It reminds me of the many acts of love, such as caring for our earth, that might be overlooked as that, if we are only half-hearted in our Christian commitments.
Half-hearted is a good term as well Laura. It seems to me that we need whole-hearted faith in many ways. Half-hearted efforts never seem to bring much positive change.
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