When we journey with people from other countries and cultures, we witness their joys and suffering and may be touched by the inequality, poverty, exclusion, violence and environmental destruction that is present in their reality. In Cambodia, we have learnt about the issue of landmines and the effect on its people. Consider what may happen when a changing climate brings more extreme weather events such as flooding which in turn could cause mines to be washed into once cleared fields.
Cambodia’s tropical forests hold a rich biodiversity which has been greatly reduced due to deforestation. In fact, deforestation in Cambodia is one of the highest in the world with environmental degradation also occurring in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries on a large scale. Due to this, many endangered and endemic species are now threatened with extinction. There are many reasons for the deforestation in Cambodia ranging from illegal logging to large scale clearing for big construction projects and agricultural activities.
Creation is God’s first act of Mission and we are beholden to care for this wonderful gift. Sometimes we talk about this responsibility requiring an Ecological Conversion. This means much more than just feeling spiritually good about the natural world. It is more than recycling and becoming a vegetarian, although these small acts are also a great choice. Ecological Conversion involves a radical change in consciousness about how we relate to ourselves, our world, and our God. As Pope Francis says, we must listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor (LS, 49).
When we revere and respect the earth, we also recognise that we a part of the amazing web of creation. We acknowledge the wisdom and experience of our ancestors.
In 2015, Pope Francis released an important document called Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home. In this he quotes Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew who says
“For human beings… to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation; for human beings to degrade the integrity of the earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the earth of its natural forests or destroying its wetlands; for human beings to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life – these are sins”. For “to commit a crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin against God” (LS, 8).
Saint Therese of Lisieux, the patron Saint of Mission also reminds us that we can all play a part in caring for our common home. “She invites us to practise the little way of love, not to miss out on a kind word, a smile or any small gesture which sows peace and friendship. An integral ecology is also made up of simple daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness. In the end, a world of exacerbated consumption is at the same time a world which mistreats life in all its forms” (LS, 230). Each of us can be responsible for the way in which we use the resources of creation.