436. Environment

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 436

Ave Maria series

436  How should we treat the environment?

We fulfill God’s commission with regard to creation when we care for the earth, with its biological laws, its variety of species, its natural beauty, and its dwindling resources, as a living space and preserve it, so that future generations also can live well on earth.  [2415]

This open pit coal mine in Kentucky is a total disturbance of the land and it displaces plants, animals and even people in the surrounding watershed.  The ground water is disrupted and utilization of the coal as fuel is burdensome to our planet’s air.….. 436

In the book of Genesis, God says, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and every living thing that moves upon this earth” (Genesis 1:28).  Having “dominion over the earth” does not mean having an absolute right to dispose arbitrarily of animate and inanimate nature, animals, and plants.  Because man is created in God’s image, he should care for God’s creation as a shepherd and steward.  For the first book of the Bible also says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15).  42-50

“Experience shows that disregard for the environment always harms human coexistence, and vice versa. It becomes more and more evident that there is an inseparable link between peace with creation and peace among men.”  --Pope Benedict XVI, January 1, 2007

[2415]

Respect for the integrity of creation

2415 The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity. Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation. --Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

Nature  Environment  Coal Mining