YOUCAT Lesson 436
YOUCAT the catechism
for Catholic youth
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]
Open pit coal mining 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
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