Catholics & Environmentalists

Catholics share a deep concern for the environment with the environmental movement but for an entirely different reason.

Catholics place human beings at the center of life, but the environmentalists see humanity as just another life form and this article from This Rock examines this.

An excerpt.

“Central to John Paul’s teaching was that the principal objective of environmental protection is the benefit of human life: "The most profound and serious indication of the moral implications underlying the ecological problem is the lack of respect for life evident in many patterns of environmental pollution. . . . Respect for life, and above all for the dignity of the human person, is the ultimate guiding norm for any sound economic, industrial or scientific progress" (7).

“Human Life at the Center

“This is where Catholic teaching on the environment departs from much of modern environmentalism: The Catholic approach is centered on humanity, not an abstract notion of nature. The Commission has also explained that some environmentalists take serious objection at this notion: "Christianity has been accused by some as in part responsible for the environmental crisis, for the very reason that it has maximized the place of human beings created in the image of God to rule of visible creation" (Communion and Stewardship, 72).

“In 2007, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace gathered some 80 experts representing the scientific, political, economic, and spiritual sides of the climate-change debate to discuss "Climate Change and Development." At the closing ceremony, Renato Cardinal Martino, president of the Council, said: "Nature is for the human person and the human person is for God . . . The person has an indisputable superiority over creation and, in virtue of his personhood and being gifted with an immortal soul, cannot be placed on an equal plane with other living beings, nor can he be considered a disturbing element in the natural ecological equilibrium." Discussing what it means to be a good steward, Martino explained:

“’Nature is not an absolute, but a wealth that is placed in the person’s responsible and prudent hands. . . . The person does not have an absolute right over nature but rather a mandate to conserve and develop it in light of the universal destination of the earth’s goods which is one of the fundamental principles of the social doctrine of the Church.

"Pope Benedict XVI has also advanced this idea. In his 2008 World Day of Peace address, Benedict reminded us that humans have a duty to protect our environment for the benefit of mankind. This legitimate respect for and concern about the environment is not the same as viewing "material or animal nature more important than man." The pope made clear that human beings "are of supreme worth vis-à-vis creation as a whole."

"No More Value Than Slugs"

“Environmentalists who blame Christianity and its influence on Western Civilization for ecological problems tend to reject the Christian notion that humans are special. These people are pantheistic at heart. Pantheism is an ancient religious outlook that makes no distinction (or at best a very unclear one) between the Creator and the creation. Under this view, God is not transcendent: God is in all and all is part of God. As such, there is no special role for humans in nature. Of course, this results in the rejection of a Christian view of mankind, understanding of creation, and teachings related to God’s plan for humanity.

“John Davis, the editor of Earth First! (the self-proclaimed voice of the radical environmental movement), has written: "Human beings, as a species, have no more value than slugs" (The Environmentalist’s Little Green Book). David Foreman, writing in the same magazine, said: "We advocate biodiversity for biodiversity’s sake. It may take our extinction to set things straight" and "Phasing out the human race will solve every problem on earth, social and environmental" (qtd. in J.H. Huebert and Walter Block, "Environmentalists in Outer Space," The Freeman, March 2008). David Graber, a biologist with the National Park Service, said: "I know scientists who remind me that people are part of nature, but it isn’t true. Somewhere along the line . . . we quit the contract and became a cancer. We have become a plague upon ourselves and upon the Earth. . . . Some of us can only hope for the right virus to come along" (qtd. in Glenn Woiceshyn, "Environmentalism and Eco-Terrorism," Capitalism Magazine, September 30, 1998). Dr. Reed F. Noss of The Wildlands Project said: "The collective needs of non-human species must take precedence over the needs and desires of humans" (qtd. in Michael S. Coffman, "Taking Liberty," Range Magazine, Fall 2005). Similar, if less extreme, sentiments can be found in many environmental writings.”