"Human Ecology" Is 1st Priority, Says Pontiff
Work for Environment Should Emphasize Importance of Humanity
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 11, 2011 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says the "groaning of creation" is being caused in part by men's pride, but work for the environment must give first priority to "human ecology."
The Pope said this in a message to the bishops of Brazil in support of their annual Lenten campaign. This year the campaign is focused on fraternity and life on the planet.
The Feb. 16 message, addressed to the president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, Archbishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha of Mariana, said the first step for establishing a correct relationship with the world is recognizing our condition as creatures.
"[M]an is not God, but his image," the Holy Father affirmed, "that is why he must try to be more sensitive to the presence of God in what surrounds him: in all creatures and, especially, in the human person in whom there is a certain epiphany of God."