{"id":2738,"date":"2017-05-21T19:34:23","date_gmt":"2017-05-21T19:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/?p=842"},"modified":"2021-10-20T09:06:14","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T15:06:14","slug":"union-us-our-response-to-pope-francis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/union-us-our-response-to-pope-francis\/","title":{"rendered":"Union: US – Our Response to Pope Francis"},"content":{"rendered":"

A reflection by Sister Gemma Pires, US Unit of Union of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary<\/em><\/p>\n

Our response to Pope Francis call, to add care for the environment to the Gospel-inspired works of mercy that we are called to perform.<\/p>\n

Laudato Si is rooted in the Church\u2019s social teachings. It draws attention to the grave ecological crisis that humanity has created. A moral clarion call for urgent action is to protect Earth from ruin. It is also a \u201cmoral charter\u201d for sustainable development goals.<\/p>\n

Martin Buber stated, \u201cWhoever relates to the Earth, only as something to be \u2018used,\u2019 relates to God the same way.\u201d Thomas Aquinas declared, \u201cIf we don\u2019t understand creation correctly, we can\u2019t understand God.\u201d Pope Francis believes, \u201cClimate change is caused by human activity,\u201d and that environment degradation is related to human and social degradation.<\/p>\n

Evidences which we have recently seen include the Republican administration reversal of the Clean Power Plan (EPA). Keystone XL puts at risk communities\u2014First Nations, vulnerable poor, elderly, children\u2014by valuing profits over humans. The pipeline projects provide negligible long term jobs, threatens pure water sources to tribal lands and increases global warming from carbon intensive tar sands. The worst disaster caused in Flint, Mich., was the lead poisoning of drinking water.<\/p>\n

Those overwhelmed by illness due to starvation and lack of healthcare need our Earth community to be the conscience\u2019s last refuge for generous almsgiving. One person\u2019s affluent lifestyle is another\u2019s bleak poverty.<\/p>\n

Francis declares: \u201cWe\u2019re faced with a complex crisis, both social and environmental. This demands an integral approach, to combat poverty and protect the environment. Climate change is the most pressing change we\u2019ve ever faced. Numberless communities are impacted by the pollution of air, water and its effects on future generations. Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, stronger storms, increased drought, cause food and water shortage. Illness and fatalities threaten human life, mostly affecting the poor.”<\/p>\n

The Earth community is a \u2018web of relationships\u2019 globally and we share in the oneness of God and creation. We welcome the stranger, for we see the face of Jesus in the suffering and fearful immigrants. Aware of the needs of prisoners, we reflect God\u2019s mercy, perhaps becoming a pen-pal with someone outside our comfort zone. Sites such as www.writeaprisoner.com or www.friendsbeyondthewall.com allow messages to be sent electronically or by post.<\/p>\n

Changes in moral perception are needed, calling us to a mutual relationship between humanity and care for our common home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A reflection by Sister Gemma Pires, US Unit of Union of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Our response to Pope Francis call, to add care for… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2738"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3309,"href":"https:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738\/revisions\/3309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbvmconference.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}