If I were to ask you what the greenest sovereign state in the world is, you’d probably guess something like Finland or Iceland, right? Perhaps New Zealand or maybe the Federated States of Micronesia? Given the way that the conversation surrounding climate change has been framed recently, all of these responses would be very good, but ultimately incorrect.
Granted, the world’s greenest state is only five times larger than the Quad, has a population less than that of Ridgecrest South and refers to its ruler as the Vicar of Jesus Christ, but the Vatican is certainly contributing a very intriguing perspective to the global climate change conversation.
Before his resignation in 2013, Pope Benedict XVI made numerous efforts to improve the Vatican’s carbon footprint. These efforts included commissioning a hybrid Popemobile and installing enough solar panels throughout the city and the nearby Italian countryside to make the Vatican entirely solar powered. Soon Pope Francis will be issuing an encyclical to Catholics pertaining to the relationship between humans and the environment. While environmental issues remain a very polarizing political topic in the United States, the Vatican’s environmental influence stems from its comprehensive approach to the issue.
Instead of trying to profit off of the huge global warming industry or allying themselves politically with certain interest groups, the Vatican treats environmental stewardship with the moral authority the issue deserves.
As the Vatican notes, Pope Francis’ upcoming encyclical will focus on the idea of human ecology, a phrase used by his predecessor Pope Benedict to describe “not only how people must defend and respect nature but how the nature of the person — masculine and feminine, as created by God — must also be defended.” For example, how can we think that we are sincerely improving the climate that we live in when as a culture think it’s acceptable to throw away pre-born fetuses or destroy human embryos in the name of science?
Pope Francis recently compared the modern manipulation and destruction of life to the annihilation caused by nuclear weapons, as both destroy any sort of natural order in society. Nature has a clear order, specifically that humans are naturally created from a mother and a father and are naturally created as male or female, evident from the basic genetic and physical makeup of each human being. If we say we are committed to respecting all of creation, we need to be just as concerned with respecting and defending all of human creation, including the pre-born, the elderly and all others whom society often just throws away.
It would be incredibly shortsighted to think that working for climate change only includes recycling, cutting emissions or protesting fracking. Hopefully, Pope Francis is helping individuals realize that taking care of the environment demands a genuine care and respect for all of human creation as well.
Joe Puchner is a sophomore studying mathematics and Spanish. His column runs every other Tuesday.
