Per Christum

I know it is a little late for an “earth day” post, but I wanted to point our readers to a nice Catholic resource related to the environment: The Catholic Conservation Center. The center has as its goal to “promote ecology, environmental justice, and the stewardship of Creation in light of sacred Scripture and living Tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.” Lest the word “environmental justice” raise a red flag, note that the site strives to be loyal to the Magisterium of the Church (and wants to be emailed if they aren’t). I think this is important, because some Christian conservation sites seem to be environmentalist first, and Christian last. One does not have to be a neo-pagan, pray to Gaia, or support PETA, to believe in the conservation and care of God’s creation.

I definitely support conservation and caring for the earth. I enjoy nature, and being out in it, and like many Church Fathers, I believe that we can know something about our Creator from His marvelous creation. I lament the destruction and exploitation of our world, although I believe it is our right to use the earth’s resources justly for our benefit.

When I was growing up, some in my evangelical church were suspicious of my enjoyment of nature; if someone enjoyed nature (or wanted to care for it), then he was deemed too close to paganism! However, when I became Catholic I entered an Incarnational church, a sacramental Church, where the physical is not divided from the “spiritual.” Fortunately, the Catholic Church has a solid understanding of the role of creation that is neither idolatrous nor semi-Gnostic.

Image taken by me, April 2008