By Rachel Kogi
The environment is the mainstay of all human activities and the development of any society. As humans daily interact with their environment, issues of environmental degradation, destruction and utter abuse of the environment crop up. Nigeria, and indeed the entire world is battling with all forms of environmental pollution and degradation, leading to climate change.
In 2016, in an address explaining why Catholics must make practical changes in their daily routines to safeguard the earth that God created, Pope Francis added care for the environment as an eighth work of mercy. The Pope said that care for creation actually belongs to both lists of spiritual and corporal works of mercy. “Grateful contemplation of God’s world,” he said, is a spiritual work of mercy. And daily behaviours to protect the landscape of that world should be considered a corporal work of mercy.
Saving the environment is the responsibility of everyone. The Catholic Church’s social teaching on care for the earth is a requirement of faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. Aside the Church’s teachings, Goal 3 of the UN Sustainable Goals “to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” aims at securing a healthy life for all. In the same vein, |Pope Francis says “When we mistreat nature, we also mistreat human beings.”
Saving the environment is a universal responsibility of the Church and citizens of the world. The Social Communications Directorate, as the media organ of the Catholic Church in Nigeria, in line with the Church’s longstanding commitment to care for the environment is committed to this pursuit.
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