Why is Creation Care So Important to Catholic Theology?
For many Christians, Catholic or not, the Earth is a physical manifestation of God's love. While all maintain His presence in their heart, many see the beauty of His grace in every landscape, trickling stream, and bird that gently soars through the air.
Pope Francis maintains this as the underpinning of his rhetoric, but what compels him the most is a reverent humility in the face of overpowering awe. Or, as Rudolph Otto referred to it, Mysterious Tremendum, an overwhelming mystery that evades language. Pope Francis shared, "We are the lords of creation, not its masters." In this sense, 'lord' is to be understood as caretaker or steward; the very core of what it means to be Christian.
Pope Francis: A Christian Who Does Not Protect Creation ‘Does Not Care About the Work of God’
By David Gibson for Religious News Service
VATICAN CITY (RNS) If you are a Christian, protecting the environment is part of your identity, not an ideological option, Pope Francis said Monday (Feb. 9).
“When we hear that people have meetings about how to preserve creation, we can say: ‘No, they are the greens!’” Francis said in his homily at morning Mass, using a common name for environmental activists.
“No, they are not the greens! This is the Christian!” he said.