Creation / Ecology

Sean McDonagh kindly provides the text of an interview he did with Brian Rowe of the National Catholic Reporter during his recent 10-day speaking tour of the East Coast of the U.S. which focused on his new book on Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home.”
Sean tells us “This is potentially an extraordinary moment for the church,” … “… Now do we take it or do we go back into our burrows? I hope we take it.”

Seán McDonagh, drawing on the wisdom of ‘Laudato Si’ brings to our attention the impact the consumption of meat is having on Humans and the Global Environment.
“We might think that this generation is merely following the tradition of our ancestors when it comes to eating meat. In reality the global meat industry has grown dramatically in recent decades. Between 1963 and 2014 meat production globally has grown from 78 million tons to 300 million tons.”
“to reach a healthy level of meat consumption, citizens of the United States would have to cut their meat consumption by two-thirds, while in Britain and Ireland we should be eating half as much meat as we do.”

Seán McDonagh continues to draw our attention to the wealth of knowledge and teaching there is to be gleaned from ‘Laudato Si’ and to the urgency of Pope Francis’ message.
“Coral reefs, for example, have declined by 40 percent worldwide. This has been caused by climate-change warming of the oceans and deforestation in the tropics. Even though they constitute only 1 per cent of the ocean seabed, coral reefs are home to 25 percent of the species of the ocean.”
“there is time for humans to halt the damage with effective programmes limiting the exploitation of the oceans.”

Sean McDonagh keeps the teaching and insights of ‘Laudato Si’ before us.
“The destruction of biodiversity is a disaster for planet earth. Scientists now estimate that 100,000 species become extinct each year through deforestation, poaching and pollution. The current rate of extinction is estimated to be 1000 times what it would be in the absence of human intervention.”
But all is not bad news. Sean writes that “Amid all the gloom, there is a flicker of hope through targeted breeding programmes.”

Sean McDonagh comments on the multilateral treaty on climate change that was signed by 195 countries at the end of the Conference of the Parties (C0P21) in Paris.
“At most of the COPs which I attended during the past decade, the Catholic Church was barely visible, but at COP21 in Paris, the reverberations from Pope Francis’ powerful encyclical Laudato Si’ could be heard.”
“Despite major omissions, the Paris agreement demonstrates that global cooperation has the potential to steer us on to a safer path for both people and the planet.”

Sean McDonagh tells us that Pope Francis’ encyclical is ‘ one of the most important documents to come from a Pope in the past one hundred-and-twenty years.’
‘Pope Francis is the first to acknowledge the magnitude of the ecological crisis, the urgency with which it must be faced and the irreversible nature of ecological damage.’
Sean reminds us though that while ‘this is a most exciting document, it is only a beginning. Real efforts and resources have to be placed behind it if this concern is to find its rightful place at the heart of Christian ministry.’

Sean McDonagh keeps us informed about the forthcoming encyclical that deals with ecological issues. He includes a quote from Neil Thorns, the head of advocacy at England’s Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), as saying that “the anticipation around Pope Francis’s forthcoming encyclical is unprecedented. We have seen thousands of our supporters commit to making sure their MPs know climate change is affecting the poorest communities.”
What will be the response of the church in Ireland and its bishops?

Sean McDonagh gives his reaction to the report from COP20 in Lima.
The Lima document broke with all previous COPs where the burden of reducing greenhouse gases was placed squarely on the shoulders of rich countries which historically have been emitting carbon dioxide since the beginning of the industrial revolution. In Lima poor countries felt that rich countries were attempting to move the burden of reducing carbon dioxide emissions on to their shoulders.

Sean McDonagh continues to explore part two of The Cry of the Earth by the Irish Bishops and elaborates on our responsibility as Christians to care for creation.

On October 1st 2014, The Irish Catholic Bishops Conference launched The Cry of the Earth: A Pastoral Reflection on Climate Change. It was meant to be a call to action, but In truth there has not been much discussion of the document. Sean McDonagh stresses that we need to be more urgent in our response to Climate Change.