Food for Thought

In "Called to Ecological Conversion," a 2011 document for the Catholic Theological Union, Franciscan Sister Dawn M. Nothwehr wrote that "most North American Christians have lost ... intimacy with the created world.

Mar 10, 2016

In "Called to Ecological Conversion," a 2011 document for the Catholic Theological Union, Franciscan Sister Dawn M. Nothwehr wrote that "most North American Christians have lost ... intimacy with the created world. We are not able to immediately recognize creation as God's self-revelation complementing familiar biblical witnesses to God's grandeur."

She continued: "In fact, we have come close to obliterating much of the natural world, marring it to the extent that it can barely eke out a mere whimper in praise of God's glory rather than a 'shout of joy.'"

Sometimes it seems easier to deny or ignore what we've done, she wrote, "but that's not what Christians are called to do."

She said the U.S. bishops, in a 2001 statement, called for dialogue and "'prudent and constructive action to protect God's precious gift of the earth's atmosphere with a sense of genuine solidarity and justice for all God's children.' The hope is that we know what significant life changes we must make toward halting global warming now!"

She added that "the biggest 'fix' that is needed is the transformation of the human heart and engagement of a lively moral imagination."