Autumn in North Carolina / Photograph by ucumari on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Denver Newsroom, Sep 6, 2022 / 08:00 am (CNA).
The U.S. bishops have stated that the “beauty of the fall season” in many regions of the country is an ideal time to become more receptive to God and to join Pope Francis in prayer for God’s Creation.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) stated on September 1: “Our thanks for abundant harvests and the beauty of colorful leaves, early sunsets, and cooler air calls us to make some interior space to listen more intently to creation, to each other, and to God.”
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Justice and Human Development, and Bishop David Malloy of Rockford, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, delivered the message of the bishops for the World Day of Prayer for Creation.
In 2015, Pope Francis created the day of prayer. It is observed on September 1. It begins a month-long “Season of Creation” that concludes on October 4, Saint Francis of Assisi’s feast day.
The day of prayer is consistent with the theme of the pope’s 2015 encyclical Laudato si’, which focused on the care of our shared environment. This year’s National Day of Prayer theme is “Listen to the Voice of Creation.”
“If we learn to listen, we might hear dissonance in the voice of creation,” Pope Francis stated in his personal address for the occasion. “On the one hand, we can hear a beautiful song praising our cherished Creator, and on the other, pained cries bemoaning our mistreatment of our shared environment.”
The bishops of the United States pondered Pope Francis’ statements. Catholics must “learn the skill of hearing” in order to protect the environment, much as Old Testament prophets warned against those who “had ears but do not hear.”
“The Holy Father correctly detects a discord in the globe, which is also resoundingly true in the United States,” they stated. “The natural world’s splendor and the harmony resulting from the integrity of creation beckon to us. Yet we also hear the ‘call of the planet and the cry of the poor,’ the ‘little ones’ harmed by a throwaway culture fueled by greed, excessive consumption, technocratic power, and apathy. We continue to experience the destructive power of natural catastrophes, floods, fires, and heat waves, as well as the resulting suffering of humans, animals, and ecosystems.”
The bishops stated that, with attentive listening, “we can also hear the sound of hope emanating from our collective activities to safeguard creation, perhaps shockingly from our national governments and within our pilgrim Church.”
Across the Catholic dioceses in the United States, synodal processes produced some “optimistic reactions.” Some participants, particularly young people, expressed the need for the Church to care for the environment.
The bishops stated that numerous Catholic organizations, religious orders, dioceses, parishes, communities, families, and people in the United States are responding to Laudato Si’s invitation.
Their statement lauded the Catholic Campaign for Human Development’s support of environmental community organizations. Catholic Rural Life Conference works with farmers and agriculture leaders, Catholic Charities assists victims of natural disasters, and Catholic Relief Services supports climate change adaptation efforts among the world’s poor.
Recent revisions to the USCCB’s socially responsible investment criteria focused mostly on environmental concerns. It now has five responsible investing areas, including climate change, biodiversity, water and natural resources, technology, and environmental impact.
The U.S. bishops acknowledged the approaching feast of St. Francis of Assisi and the second anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli tutti, which addressed brotherhood and social fellowship. According to the bishops, the pope’s call for “a new form of politics” is a plea for a better “eco-politics” that “protects the environment and green ideas rather than exploiting them for political benefit.”
Despite political differences, legislators of diverse ideologies share worries about the global climate and national welfare.
The bishops stated, “They are doing the difficult task of exploring bipartisan policies that may conserve the environment, provide energy security, and expand the economy.” “We pray that now and in the future, both parties will continue to advance their best environmental policies and work together to safeguard the ‘common home’ that God has provided to us.”
The United States bishops also referenced Benedict XVI’s environmental encyclicals.
“We must listen to the language of nature and respond accordingly,” Benedict XVI told the German parliament in September 2011. He lauded the environmental movement for recognizing that “matter is not merely raw material for us to manipulate at will, but that the world has its own dignity and we must adhere to its commands.”
The bishops meditated on the phrase “faith comes through hearing” from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans.
“Hearing stresses the mystery, personal presence of God and the call to discipleship. Even when we cannot see or feel, God’s voice reminds us of his love, presence, and mercy, either directly or via creation and other people, they added. Listening is the most passive of the faith senses, reminding us of the Lord’s initiative and activity.
They stated, “Faith is our reaction to God’s action rather than the result of our Promethean creation.”
In his message for the day of prayer, Pope Francis asked for prayers that world leaders at the next COP27 conference on climate change and COP15 summit on biodiversity will join the human family in facing “the combined calamity of climate change and the loss of biodiversity.”
“Remembering Saint Paul’s admonition to rejoice with those who rejoice and to sorrow with those who weep, let us weep with the painful cry of creation,” the pope added. “Let us heed this call and answer with acts so that we and future generations can continue to delight in the wonderful music of life and hope that creation sings”