The Convergence started out with a rally in St. Peter’s
Square, where we brought banners and props made in partnership with the artists
from the People’s Climate March in NYC last September, where our group of
multi-faith leaders came together to thank Pope Francis for his encyclical, Laudato
Si’. The continuity of the movement from the People’s Climate March really
made me feel like I was part of a genuine movement. Those of us who identified
as Catholic took the opportunity to ask people in St. Peter’s Square if they
were interested in signing a petition created by
the newly created Global Catholic Climate Movement, which has already been
endorsed by Pope Francis. Leaders within the Global Catholic Climate Movement are
aiming to get 1 million signatures before the United Nations climate
negotiations in Paris this upcoming December.
During the rest of the convergence, we heard from seasoned
leaders from many faith traditions as well as emerging leaders from across the
world. I was able to see the common
language about care for the Earth across all faith traditions: Hinduism,
Baha’i, Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, Sikhism, and others. Learning from so many
traditions which were new to me, while also being reminded of the ecologically
spiritual rootedness of my Franciscan Catholic tradition, was an enlightening
and spiritually liberating experience.
From Sister Kathleen Deignan at Iona College, I identified with her
feeling from living in NYC that NYC is “desertified.” I am drawn to believe
that the Catholicism rooted in the Celtic spirituality of Ireland, a family
heritage which we both share, played a role in the progression of our spiritual
understanding of our need to green the earth again.
During the U.S./Canada breakout session, I learned of the
lobby training that Emily Wirzba does with students through her work at Friends
Committee on National Legislation in Washington, D.C.; Daniel Blackman’s work in Atlanta
to organize around a commemoration of the 10 year anniversary of Hurricane
Katrina; and Austin Weisgrau’s work in Portland around fossil fuels and dialogue about
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I also learned of Josh Smith’s work with Catholic
youth in Canada and the Green Churches Network in Canada and Norman Levasque’s
book “Greening Your Church.” I was reminded of Louis Tillman’s work to provide economic
opportunity for youth through a church community garden in Chicago, as I happened
to already meet him just a few short weeks ago through Wake Forest University’s
Re:Generate fellowship program.
What I’ve
found through my experiences is that the issues that affect disenfranchised
communities are the same regardless of if the community is in the mountains of
Peru, in the mountains of Appalachia, or in the streets of Harlem or the Bronx
in the United States. Environmental
injustices lead to health disparities, such as how children become contaminated
with poisoning from toxic heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, or arsenic,
because of pollution. People are robbed of their ability to sustainably grow
food on the land and end up looking for nourishment from the fossil-fuel
intensive industrialized food system, because of the interests of private
development agencies and corporate monopolies. What this convergence added to
the conversation was the explicit acknowledgement that when the church is
silent against the companies that commit such atrocities, she is acting as an
accomplice.
As shared by
Rabbi Lawrence Troster from Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth, the climate
crisis is not a political issue but a spiritual issue, so we need to approach
it as such. Yet hearing of the struggles
to activate religious leaders in Asia and move “environmental” issues away from
just being “secular” issues reminded me of the challenges we face. How can we move people who will fast for a
cause for a brief period of time, to adopt long-term lifestyle changes such as
recycling? Listening to Betty ask her
global sisters and brothers to donate soil and sand to the island of Fiji
because of the realities of sea level rise strengthened my conviction to
continue working on climate justice issues. I even got a chance to journey alongside Yeb
Sano, the former U.N. climate negotiator for the Philippines, who has left his
role with the U.N. to lead the People’s
Pilgrimage – a powerful worldwide spiritual movement that reinforces the
need to address the climate crisis principally from a spiritual perspective,
because as demonstrated by previous U.N. climate negotiations and political
decisions made by various nation-states across the world (especially the most
powerful), status quo political rhetoric and decisions are not getting us to
where we need to be fast enough.
I was
inspired by interfaith efforts to promote public health, such as the Global
Interfaith WASH (WAter, Sanitation, Hygiene) Alliance and the leadership in
sustainable development happening in Africa and Asia. I was impressed to learn
of the leadership of the Archdioceses in Australia and Kenya and their support
of young adults in promoting Catholic ecology. The Catholics in Australia are even working on
organizing around World Youth Day 2016 which will be held in Poland and include
a focus on ecology.
I was not surprised
to learn that the Garifuna people in Honduras already have a climate mitigation
plan. Many countries in the Global South have shown leadership in addressing
climate change issues because these are the countries impacted the most.
Most importantly, the convergence participants were given a
bit of encyclical education by a Vatican representative. “Encyclical” means circular letter. It is
meant to be passed on, read, and listened to. To a room of emerging multi-faith
leaders, the Vatican representative told us to “take it, make it your own, be
true to it and pass it on with love, sympathy, compassion.” “Take the time to read it.” “Don’t give up on
religious leaders.” “It’s not about
ecology, it’s about life.” And if we
have other ideas for the leadership that the Church should take? What do seminaries have to teach the
Church? Take it to the Vatican: “The
Vatican is not a control tower.”
Pope
Francis’ encyclical sends a powerful message. It tells us that the Church
acknowledges the eco-spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi, the realities of
how our careless human lifestyles are disrupting the climate and affecting the
most vulnerable, and how a spiritual grounding and integral ecology can help us
to reverse much of the damage we’ve done.
I am very interested to see how discussion and dialogue about the
encyclical (there are already a number of discussion guides out there) can lead
us to healing and a deepened appreciation of faith and community.
Before we
left the convergence, we were given the task of drafting an eco-theological
project to carry out in our home countries. The three stages of the task
include an eco-autobiography, exploring spiritual resources, and finding a
forum for public expression. I found this task to be a particularly useful
exercise in helping me define my own spiritual journey. The first stage of the task helped me unearth
the experiences I had while growing up that led to the development of my
spiritual convictions, and had me ponder my relationships with land, animals,
and other non-human forms of life. It also had me reflect on my personal
experiences with environmental justice issues, something I’ve had to intentionally
immerse myself in because of the protection that the privilege that my cultural
and socioeconomic background afford me.
Regarding
the texts which have informed my eco-theology, I thought about the creation
mandate found from a spiritual reading of Genesis in the Bible, as well as a
few books by Franciscans I’ve learned of through the Franciscan Earth Corps,
including “Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth” and
“Repair My House: Becoming a Kindom Catholic.”
These texts have helped inform my understanding of Catholic Franciscan
eco-theology, such as the “thisness” of each unique creation of God and the
Trinitarian worldview which underpins Christianity. Drawing from these reflections to identify the
basis of my own spiritual beliefs about the environment, I found that
contemplation and the practice of being present can lead us to experience a
feeling of oneness and interconnectedness, and a sense of divine presence in
everything and everyone in the world. This translates into the responsibility
we share to steward the Earth and treat everyone and everything as our brothers
and sisters because of the kinship we share with creation; as well as the need
to work for justice and reconciliation, especially when we have privilege,
because of the Gospel’s call to prioritize the poor.
The last
part of the task, finding a forum for public expression, is still a work in
progress for me. Perhaps my reflections here are a form of this public
expression, though as I continue to process all that I learned during the
convergence and continue to learn at home, I’m sure my ideas will continue to
evolve. I welcome thoughts on meaningful methods I could use for public
expression, but most importantly, I encourage everyone reading this to create
their own version of the eco-theological project. As the convergence participants learned from
the Vatican representative, it is up to us to take what we find in the
encyclical as well as in our own faith traditions, and use it in our own
contexts. As St. Francis said, “I have
done what is mine to do; may Christ teach you what is yours to do.”
