Bishop Jon Hansen of MacKenzie-Fort Smith Diocese
Laudato Si Workshop Opening Remarks
In 2015, the summer that Laudato Si was promulgated, I was preparing to embark on my new appointment as the Pastor of a small Catholic community in Inuvik and its surrounding missions in the Western Canadian Arctic.
As I drove the 700 isolated kilometers of the Dempster Highway through the Yukon and Northwest Territories I was awestruck by the natural beauty. Following the course of river valleys and crossing two mountain ranges, not seeing a single other vehicle before or behind me for hours at a time I could have believed that the land I was driving through was pristine and untouched by human hands save for the ribbon of gravel road that stretched across the permafrost bed of the northern taiga and tundra landscapes.
I was soon to learn however that while the beauty of our northern lands is real, the idea that they have been untouched by our hand is an illusion.
While the traditional peoples of these lands have been present for thousands of years, living in a relatively harmonious relationship with the environment and God’s creation, the advent of towns, and mines and modern technologies are very new to the north and it is perhaps here that the contrast between the untouched and the recently spoiled is most clearly to be seen.
In Laudato Si, Pope Francis asks us to open our eyes and see what is happening to our common home. In the encyclical we read,
“ a sober look at our world shows that the degree of human intervention, often in the service of business interests and consumerism, is actually making our earth less rich and beautiful, ever more limited and grey, even as technological advances and consumer goods continue to abound limitlessly.” #34
I saw this plainly written in the communities which had been built up and then left abandoned by the speculative interests of oil and gas companies. This was clear in the divisive rift that had grown between those who had access to wealth of the mines and those who were left to live in poverty, off of government support. In a few short decades a traditional lifestyle that had been in tune with the seasons and the land, had turned to a consumer economy that left many people behind, scuttling the purpose of life for many elders and the hopes of so many young people.
Aside from toll on human health and relationships, the reality of climate change, which is still debated by some, could easily be put to rest in the minds of the doubtful by simply visiting the north. Melting permafrost and crumbling shorelines disrupt human habitation and dwindling migratory herds contribute to food scarcity. These are just a few of the stark indicators that our earth is on a path that we do not want to go down for the sake of the millions, or even billions of humans who will be adversely affected in a direct way not to mention the rest of the earth’s species which may not be able to adapt as quickly as we can. In the end we are all affected because we are all connected.
Despite drawing our attention to this bleak present reality and its causes, Laudato Si is, in fact, an encyclical about hope. It reminds us that, yes, we must change our course but also that we have what it takes to change. Again, from the encyclical we read,
“Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change. We lack an awareness of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and of a future to be shared with everyone. This basic awareness would enable the development of new convictions, attitudes and forms of life. A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renewal” (#202)
This is a challenging ask, but I believe the plan which will be laid out before us today is an important and hopefully fruitful step on the journey of change. Within our spiritual tradition lies an untapped source of wisdom and practical knowledge personified in the figure of St. Francis. Again, quoting from the document,
“In calling to mind the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi, we come to realize that a healthy relationship with creation is one dimension of overall personal conversion, which entails the recognition of our errors, sins, faults and failures, and leads to heartfelt repentance and desire to change” (#218).
I am also buoyed in hope by the crossover that I see between the work of Truth and Reconciliation with the Indigenous peoples of this land and the Call of Laudato Si. Within that window of intersection is an opportunity to learn from those who have been doing this the longest and who have the most immediate vested interest. From the encyclical we read,
“It is essential to show special care for indigenous communities and their cultural traditions. They are not merely one minority among others, but should be the principal dialogue partners, especially when large projects affecting their land are proposed. For them, land is not a commodity but rather a gift from God and from their ancestors who rest there, a sacred space with which they need to interact if they are to maintain their identity and values. When they remain on their land, they themselves care for it best.” 146
Good relations with our brothers and sisters are an integral step to a good relationship with all of creation. We can learn so much if we but listen.
And that is why we are here today to listen and to learn, to hear from our speaker and from one another. I am grateful that have this time together to share a common vision of a path that will lead us forward. It is my privilege to open this morning with prayer and I will do so using the words of St. Francis of Assisi from his most well known and beloved Canticle of the Creatures.
CANTICLE OF THE CREATURES
Most High,
all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honour, and all blessing.
To You
alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no human is worthy to mention Your name.
Praised be
You, my Lord, with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day and through whom You give us light.
And he is
beautiful and radiant with great splendour;
and bears a likeness of You, Most High One.
Praised be
You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be
You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather,
through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be
You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praised be
You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night,
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be
You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us,
and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs.
Praised be
You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your
love, and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are
those who endure in peace
for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.
Praised be
You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no one living can escape.
Woe to those
who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.
Praise and
bless my Lord and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.
(2015) Press Release from Archbishop Donald Bolen - Diocese of Regina
Laudato Si – a reaction from Bishop Donald Bolen in 2015 when he was the Bishop of Saskatoon Diocese.
By Kiply Lukan Yaworski : Written for the 'Prairie Messanger’.
SASKATOON – Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, Laudata Si, is a beautifully written and accessible document for the whole world, says Bishop Donald Bolen of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon.
“It speaks a word that the world needs to hear at this moment in time,” said Bolen after the pontiff released the encyclical June 18 as part of the Church’s social teaching. “It is a word that many in our society, including our scientific community, are longing to hear, have been waiting to hear. It is an invitation to come to our senses and start to cultivate the larger vision needed if we are to live meaningfully as a human race on this earth which God has given us.”
He noted that Pope Francis’ broad intention resonates in the opening lines of the encyclical: “Now, faced as we are with global environmental deterioration, I wish to address every person living on this planet (3).” The Holy Father emphasizes the profound and moving reality that earth is “our common home,” the bishop added.
Bolen expressed his delight in the sense of wonder and awe which characterizes this document, so grounded in a healthy relationship with God and with God’s creation.
He observed that the document’s title – Laudato Si or Praised Be – is appropriately taken from Saint Francis of Assisi’s glorious hymn to creation: “Praised be to you, my Lord, through brother sun, who gives us light. For sister moon and the stars; praised be to you, my Lord, through brother wind, sister water, through all the creatures.”
“The encyclical calls into question how we are to live on this planet, how we are to live in relation to the earth, how we are to deal with the suffering of others, how we are to form societies, cultures,” said Bolen, noting it is a call to conversion and change for each one of us in how we live and in the decisions we make.
He noted that Laudato Si identifies the ongoing dialogue with scientists, philosophers, theologians and civic groups that has taken place on these issues, and calls for a “conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.”
Pope Francis identifies that the same spiritual crisis is harming both the environment and human beings, said Bolen.
“Pope Francis makes an appeal on both fronts. The earth is suffering … and the greatest impact of climate change falls on the poorest,” Bolen said. “We are faced not with one but two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental (139),” states the document.
Environmental devastation and the human scourges of poverty, inequality, injustice, wars, abortion, and human trafficking are all connected to our “throwaway culture,” that treats other human beings and nature as objects for exploitation and domination.
The market economy and technology must be accompanied by a moral sense to protect both the earth and human beings, stresses Pope Francis: “Never has humanity had such power over itself, yet nothing ensures that it will be used wisely,” he writes in Laudato Si. “Our immense technological development has not been accompanied by a development in human responsibility, values and conscience (105).”
It is clear that the relationship with nature will not be renewed without a renewal of humanity itself, Pope Francis adds. “The same mindset which stands in the way of making radical decisions to reverse the trend of global warming also stands in the way of achieving the goal of eliminating poverty." (175)
“Pope Francis invites us to listen to the suffering, and to an ‘ecological conversion,’ to use an expression of Pope John Paul II. We are invited to change direction by taking on the beauty and responsibility of the task of caring for our common home,” said Bolen.
“This document is saying with new force that concern for the environment is no longer optional for a believer. Caring for the environment is now even more clearly and surely part of Church teaching,” he stressed. “Pope Francis quotes Saint John Paul II: ‘Christians in their turn ‘realize that their responsibility within creation, and their duty towards nature and the Creator, are an essential part of their faith’ (64).”
Bolen identified several calls to conversion emerging from the document. “On a personal level this includes a need to decrease consumption and rethink consumerism, to examine our own lifestyle and acknowledge harm to God’s creation through our actions or failure to act, to foster and celebrate beauty, and to keep the Sabbath,” he listed.
“It also means a communal conversion: ensuring that ecological education takes place in a variety of settings (including schools, media and parishes), fostering a culture of care and implementing needed changes as a community, such as increasing regulations to protect the environment and thinking about the global implications of our actions and policies.”
Pope Francis also states in the document that fossil fuels must be “progressively replaced without delay.” He adds: "Reducing greenhouse gases requires honesty, courage and responsibility, above all on the part of those countries which are more powerful and pollute the most. (169)”
The Encyclical invites a deep discernment also on the level of nations, in terms of economic and political priorities. Pope Francis addresses political and business leaders boldly in asking, “What would induce anyone, at this stage, to hold on to power only to be remembered for their inability to take action when it was urgent and necessary to do so? (57)”
As for questions about whether the church has a role in this debate, Bolen insisted that politics and economics are not off limits to people of faith, but engaging in these areas is an integral part of working for the common good.
“I think of the old Jewish midrash: when God gets up in the morning, he gathers the angels around him and asks, ‘where does the world need healing today,’” said Bolen. “The Church needs to be involved in this issue, because it is of concern to God, because God loves the earth and loves human beings.”
He added: “Neither the Jewish nor the Christian tradition has ever seen fit to leave politics and economics to others and say that is off territory for God and faith. Much to the contrary.”
The papal encyclical reflects profoundly on the common good – not only for humanity today, but extending to future generations. “We hear ‘the environment is on loan to each generation, which must hand it on to the next,’ and a very simple question and a common sense summons: ‘What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?’ said Bolen.
“Do we love our children, our grandchildren? Enough that we might want to give them a chance to love their grandchildren? Then let’s start shifting our priorities as a society, as a nation let’s start being a leader on environmental issues, let’s start taking responsibility for our part in wounding a suffering world and working towards its healing,” Bolen urged.
The document is ultimately grounded in hope, Bolen said. “It’s not too late. Hope flows through the entire encyclical. And the ultimate ground of hope for the Christian is our hope in God.”
In section 245, before offering a prayer for our earth, the encyclical concludes: “In the heart of this world, the Lord of life, who loves us so much, is always present. He does not abandon us, he does not leave us alone, for he unites himself definitely to our earth, and his love constantly impels us to find new ways forward.”
“That great love and mercy of God is our hope and our joy,” said Bolen. “It is what will help us as we re-orient our lives, to find new ways of living and responding to these challenges so clearly articulated for us by Pope Francis.”
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