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conversion
On the occasion of the Fifth Symposium on Environment which took
place on a boat down the Baltic Sea with the theme: "The Baltic
Sea: a Common Heritage, a Shared Responsibility", the Holy Father
sent a Message to His Holiness Bartholomaios I, Ecumenical Patriarch.
The Message was given to the Patriarch by Cardinal Walter Kasper,
President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, at
the official Symposium celebrated in Gdansk, Poland, on 2 June. Within
the sphere of the Project: "Religion, Science and the
Environment", the Symposium promoted by the Ecumenical Patriarch,
which has as its purpose to give rise to a movement harmonious with the
safeguarding of creation, is inspired in its form and content by the
previous editions dedicated to the Aegean Sea, Black Sea, the Danube and
the Adriatic Sea. Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, the President
emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and member of
the Committee of honour of the manifestation, also participated in the
event.
The participants at the meeting also gave recognition to the last
edition of the Symposium, dedicated to the Adriatic Sea, where the Holy
Father and the Ecumenical Patriarch signed a Common Declaration for the
safeguarding of creation.
To His Holiness
Bartholomaios I
Archbishop of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch
It gives me great pleasure to greet you and all those taking part in
the Fifth Symposium of the Religion, Science and the Environment project
which this year devotes its attention to the subject: "The Baltic
Sea: a Common Heritage, a Shared Responsibility". As the convention
opens, it is a particular joy for me to know that you have gathered in
my homeland of Poland, in the city of Gdansk. Through the presence of
Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity, I wish to renew my solidarity with the
objectives of the project and to assure you of my fervent support for
the success of your meeting.
On a number of occasions I have commented on the growing awareness
among individuals, and indeed the entire international community, of the
need to respect the environment and the natural resources which God has
given humanity. Your current Symposium attests to the desire to
transform that growing awareness into policies and acts of authentic
stewardship. I shall follow with interest your endeavours to realize the
aims outlined in our Common Declaration of last year.
It is imperative, however, that the true nature of the ecological
crisis be understood. The relationship between individuals or
communities and the environment can never be detached from their
relationship with God. When man "turns his back on the Creator's
plan, he provokes a disorder which has inevitable repercussions on the
rest of the created order" (Message for the 1990 World Day of
Peace, n. 5). Ecological irresponsibility is at heart a moral
problem — founded upon an anthropological error — which arises when
man forgets that his ability to transform the world must always respect
God's design of creation (cf. Centesimus Annus, n. 37).
Precisely because of the essentially moral nature of the problems
which the Symposium is addressing, it is proper that religious, civic
and political leaders, alongside expert representatives of the
scientific community, confront the environmental challenges facing the
Baltic region. That the Symposium is taking place aboard a boat which
will sail to many of the port towns on the Baltic Sea is itself a
powerful reminder that the effects of ecological irresponsibility often
transcend the borders of individual nations. Similarly, solutions to
this problem will necessarily involve acts of solidarity which transcend
political divisions or unnecessarily narrow industrial self-interests.
Your Holiness, in the Common Declaration on Environmental Ethics
which we signed on 10 June last year regarding the safekeeping of
creation, we outlined a specifically Christian interpretation of the
difficulties which the ecological crisis presents. Christians must
always be ready to assume in unison their responsibility within
the divine design for creation, a responsibility which leads to a
vast field of ecumenical and interreligious cooperation. As we stated, a
solution to ecological challenges demands more than just economic and
technological proposals. It requires an inner change of heart which
leads to the rejection of unsustainable patterns of consumption and
production. It demands an ethical behaviour which respects the
principles of universal solidarity, social justice and responsibility.
As you yourself stated at the closing of the Fourth International
Environmental Symposium in Venice, this calls for genuine sacrifice:
"When we sacrifice our life and share our wealth, we gain life in
abundance and enrich the entire world".
Your Holiness, I wish to express my encouragement for your commitment
to lead the Symposium of the Religion, Science and the Environment
project. I pray that Almighty God will abundantly bless this initiative.
May he accompany you and your collaborators and guide you in the ways of
justice, so that all creation may give praise to God (cf. Ps 148).
From the Vatican, 27 May 2003
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