CAMPAIGN AGAINST HUNGER and DISEASE

Fifth Sunday of Lent – 9^th March, 2008

“ONE EARTH…..ONE MISSION
- DARE to CARE
 

MESSAGE

To the Clergy, the Religious and the Laity in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman

(Approved English version of the Message No. CP-Cir/15/2008,
written originally in Konkani )

This campaign is an initiative of Caritas India to raise awareness on reducing the impact of human-induced Climate Change, which affects the poor, the most. In this context Pope John Paul II expressed his deep concern thus:

“It is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good, that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are really responsible for all.”

Solidarity entails the serious moral obligation to work for the common good.

Planet Earth is facing an environmental-ecological crisis. The essential elements of the physical reality: air, water, land, the well-balanced but fragile Eco-Systems are being polluted and steadily destroyed to meet the covetous and consumeristic wants of developed Nations and rich individuals in poor countries and through wasteful practices. Today’s profit oriented scientific-technological revolutions - whether industrial, communicational or even agricultural - are the primary culprit.

The manifestations of this crisis are many and diverse – global warming due to depletion of the ozone layer resulting in climate change has caused glacial melting rise in sea levels and major natural calamities all over the world like hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes. In India, the changing monsoon pattern, cyclones, fluctuating temperatures with heat and cold waves, degradation of the coast line etc. are now accepted as part of life. Goa also has experienced this in recent years.

Human induced degradation of the Earth’s environment and ecology is basically a question of justice. The stark reality is:

• The power- race to stockpile arms and ammunition, including nuclear weapons, using invaluable resources while sinfully denying the basic needs of the millions of people, perpetuates demeaning poverty.

• Depleting all kinds of non-renewable resources and neglecting the replenishing of renewable ones is gross greed and violation of the Earth’s sustainability, as also lack of responsibility towards the future generations – our own children.

• Inefficiency or conscious neglect by the Indian industry and citizens collectively and individually are accountable for polluting effluences and emissions from factories.

• Excess burning of fossil fuels that produce CO2, a Green House Gas (GHG) and burning of plastics which release toxic compounds called Dioxins, are common.

• Uncontrolled use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) in refrigeration, air-conditioners, fire-suppression systems and manufacturing processes are seen as a necessity.

• Use of non- biodegradable material continues unquestioned.

• Liberal use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agricultural activities is promoted.

• Deforestation on large scale for construction development, causing irreversible erosion goes half-heartedly challenged.

• Pollution of water-bodies and soil seems too much to control.

“The poorest of the poor in the world - and this includes poor people in prosperous societies – are going to be the worst hit” (Shri. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations network of 2,000 scientists.)

Global warming and climate change are problems that cut across all national boundaries and hence are a concern of the international community.
 

“It is manifestly unjust that a privileged few should continue to accumulate excess goods, squandering available resources, while masses of people are living in conditions of misery at the very lowest level of subsistence. Today, the dramatic threat of ecological breakdown is teaching us the extent to which greed and selfishness – both individual and collective – are contrary to the order of creation, an order that is characterized by mutual interdependence” – Pope John Paul II

In Goa, this critical situation demands a firm collective and individual commitment – to make it a Mission - in collaboration with the Government and Local Bodies, for strenuous and persevering efforts to: control pollution at all levels by opting for a simpler life-style by saving energy, whether electricity or fossil fuel - options are solar/wind/biogas energy; conserve water and take all precautions to eliminate its pollution at all levels; protect land and use it judiciously and fruitfully; plant more trees; promote organic methods of agriculture, horticulture, floriculture; organise awareness and motivation programmes in the villages/towns for practices based on eco-spirituality; empower adolescents/youth in Educational Institutions and Formation Houses to take responsibility to protect and promote the integrity of the eco-systems.

We urge all Parish Priests, Chaplains, Parish Bodies, Educational and Religious Institutions to organise Programmes to make people more aware of the prevalent situation and motivate them to be actively involved in effective Action Plans for their respective areas, to Dare to Care for Planet Earth. The collection of the 5^th Sunday of Lent, which will be used to change the situation of injustice, is to be forwarded to Caritas-Goa, by 16^th April 2008.

May the Spirit of God, Who fills the universe, enlighten us all to strive unitedly to restore the health of Planet Earth as much as possible and, in wholehearted concern, take care of one another and of the future generations.

Archbishop’s House, Panjim, Goa, 1^st March, 2008
 

(+ Filipe Neri Ferrao)

Archbishop of Goa and Daman