Pope Francis urged us to consider this: Climate change is a global social issue and one intimately related to the dignity of human life.
The Bishops of the United States have expressed very well this social meaning of our concern about climate change, which goes beyond a merely ecological approach, because “our care for one another and our care for the earth are intimately bound together. Climate change is one of the principal challenges facing society and the global community. The effects of climate change are borne by the most vulnerable people, whether at home or around the world”.
In a few words, the Bishops assembled for the Synod for Amazonia said the same thing: “Attacks on nature have consequences for people’s lives”.
We all know how it feels to be attacked—the fear,
But also the humiliation and sense of injustice that befalls us.
How do we move past anger and an instinct for self defense,
To be inspired to act with collective, multigenerational defense
Of all the peoples and species with which we are engaged
Socially, nutritionally, economically, and spiritually?
Those who suffered must have always lived on the margins:
The edgy ecotones, the edges of river, oceans, and ponds,
The makeshift barrios, colonias and ghettos at the city limits.
How do we help those who live in landfills, cemeteries,
Railroad yards and beneath bridges. How can we be their bridges?
