The need for a green Church

Whether you’re fearful of it, unsure of it or even bored with it  addressing climate change means that we have to change practically everything. From the way we live to the way we organise the economy to the way we perceive and think about the world  one way or another, climate change is going to change us.

The big question is whether we can adjust our lifestyles to avoid the climate changing further.

For many, the prospect is simply overwhelming and many of us are waiting for governments to make the decisions for us. But while governments and big business will have to act, there should be no delay in the average person doing the same.

Fr Chris Chatteris SJ, who teaches at St Francis Xavier’s seminary in Cape Town, says the environmental crisis can be seen in many areas, and not just in those associated with the weather.

For example, the current economic crisis possibly is a signal of the environmental crisis, and it shows the lack of justice in the world through the absence of sharing, Fr Chatteris says.

If the environment is telling us that resources are limited, then we cannot escape into fantasies of eternal growth and say that one day everyone will be looked after. We have to ask the hard questions about how we share out the generous but limited resources of the earth, not just with the people of today, but also with those of tomorrow.

He adds: I do wonder sometimes; here we are, spending a lot of time and energy on producing new liturgical texts while a billion people are going hungry and the global economy is melting down and forcing ever more people into desperate poverty. I suppose we are like everyone else; we just hope that climate change won’t happen, or if it does, we will somehow be able to ride it out reasonably unscathed. One of the things going on here is that to be prophets of doom all the time gives the impression that we don’t believe in the God’s providence.

The Jesuit says the Second Vatican Council presented the Church with an openness to the signs of the times. Vatican II sets the scene and provides the attitude for a change, rather than signalling a big change itself.

Palesa Siphuma, a researcher at the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO), sees a positive momentum with regards to improving the situation, in South Africa and the world in general, when it comes to green matters, global warming and carbon emissions.

Aline Johnson, director of the eco-active organisation Blue Blue Earth, believes there is far more awareness, a positive attitude towards green issues and a desire to want to improve the situation but a lot more needs to be done.

And it’s certainly not easy to change. Fr Chris Schonenberg from the Empophomeni Youth Centre in Meerhof, Pretoria, started greening the retreat centre 13 years ago. Inspired by the Taizr movement to lead people into the awareness of the divine, Fr Schonenberg says he wanted to do so in a way that preserves the planet.

Personally, I found it a big challenge to look at how we live with the rest of the world, the retreat priest says.

The centre was, at first, planted with alien vegetation but today is home to only indigenous plants. Eco-friendly thatch is being used, and when a geyser bursts it is replaced with solar panels.

We’re not independent yet, but we’re moving in that direction, Fr Schonenberg says. Ideally we want to be self-sufficient but we have to move step by step.

The retreats are used not only for spiritual formation but also to encourage eco-action and to make people aware of what the cost of a certain lifestyle is. The centre serves mostly vegetarian foods. When meat is served, it’s free range.

And all this starts with education. The CPLO’s Ms Siphuma says far more must be done to educate greater numbers of people about these issues. For instance, in townships the environmental impact that illegal dumping sites [where garbage is ultimately burnt] could be emphasised so as to reduce the prevalence of said dumping sites and reduce carbon emissions.

Blue Blue Earth Ms Johnson said education is the big issue as it is currently not accessible to everyone. As a part of Justice and Peace, it’s clear to see the Church is increasing awareness. But there is a lack of coordination and finances to make action really happen. One of the problems is the large inventory of issues which Justice and Peace deals with, she says, suggesting that a dedicated eco-office would be necessary to respond more effectively to green issues.

Blue Blue Earth works with schools by planting trees on school premises, educating children and helping communities realise the benefits of indigenous fruit growing trees.

Ms Siphuma said there are some Church communities that are playing their part by encouraging their congregations to have vegetable gardens and plant trees. Priests can , however, elve further by incorporating green living into their sermons and having Green Sundays where congregants are encouraged to walk or cycle to church among other things, the CPLO researcher suggests.

It can be said that both big business and institutions on the ground need to put more effort into creating awareness. Big business can use the vast resources at its disposal to promote green living and incorporate it into the products/services offered, and institutions on the ground can teach the various communities how, for instance, global warming directly impacts their lives as farming, fishing, or other types of communities, says Ms Siphuma.

Another Catholic eco-advocate, Elizabeth Mokotong, says civil society must work hand-in-hand with government to find solutions to eco-issues. We can do an audit of all our institutions to determine our carbon foot-print, and thereafter put a management system in place. We can promote recycling, tree planting around our churches, schools and hospitals, she suggests.

Fr Chatteris sees the ecological crisis as a great moral and spiritual opportunity: It’s one massive sign of the times calling the world to a simpler and more human way of life, and we Christians have the value system which can help people do this.

Even the technical solutions involve moral and spiritual issues. When you start to consider the differences between public and private transport, or between renewable energy or energy produced by SASOL or the Canadian tar sands which make huge, quick profits but destroy the environment for our children one begins to see how much the moral and the spiritual come into the question of the choice of technologies, Fr Chatteris explains.

The country’s bishops are making an effort to encourage parishes around the country to get involved. A pastoral letter was issued in the run up to the United Nations COP17 in Durban and encouraged individuals to plant trees and vegetables and parishes to take climate change seriously.

Fr Schonenberg says pastoral letters are good, but much more action is needed. Slowly, awareness is rising, but the Church is not yet meeting the needs of the issue. Fr Schonenberg believes more young people are needed, and the best place for it to start is in the Church. It would be wonderful if eco-groups were started in parishes!.

Ms Mokotong says Catholics and other Christians can do so much in creating programmes that can

effectively put God at the centre of creation and educate the faithful about imminent disasters facing humanity if our behaviour does not change. She adds that we have Catholic role models already doing their part in government the minister of Water and Environment, Edna Molewa, and minister for International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabaneand the Church can do the same.

Ms Johnson says there is a desire to get this right, but finances and positives attitudes are needed to get things right now for the long term. The knowledge and resources are available, she says, but we need to be clever about it.

Not only should the Church become pre-emptive, but it is entirely necessary, for if we don’t, Ms Mokotong says, the impact of climate change will leave the Church cleaning up; hunger, disease, homeless people and fires  the Church will end up working to relieve the issue.