Creation must be protected to achieve peace, Pope will say in message

Vatican City, Jul 29, 2009 / 09:25 am

Pope Benedict XVI will focus on how cultivating peace is tied to protecting creation for his 43rd World Day of Peace message this coming January. Drawing on his recent social encyclical, the Pope will highlight how this connection is further heightened by the "many problems concerning man's natural environment," such as climate change and the ways biotechnology is used.

"If you want to cultivate peace, protect the creation" is the theme chosen by Benedict XVI for his Message for the 43rd World Day of Peace, which will be celebrated on January 1, 2010.

According to a Vatican press office statement, the theme "aims to raise awareness about the strong bond that exists in our globalized and interconnected world between protecting the creation and cultivating peace."

This connection is "further accentuated by the many problems concerning man's natural environment, such as the use of resources, climate change, the application and use of biotechnology, and demographic growth," the statement says.

Unless the human family responds to the need to protect creation with a "renewed sense of social justice and equity, and of international solidarity, we run the risk of sowing seeds of violence among peoples, and between current generations and those to come," the message warns.

In particular, the Pope's message will draw upon paragraphs 48 to 51 of "Caritas in Veritate" to "make it clear that the protection of the environment is a challenge for all humankind. It is shared and universal duty to respect a collective asset destined for everyone."

Finally, the statement from the press office emphasizes that humanity must face the ecological questions of today for the right reason. They should be confronted," not just because of the dreadful prospects that environmental degradation presages" but out of a strong motivation for peace.