The Pope Gives Me Hope
Pope Benedict XVI’s personal commitment to protecting the environment delights me and gives me hope. I am gratified to see an increasing amount of statements from the Holy See on the environment, particularly on global warming and energy consumption.
Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, affirmed this commitment during the session “Addressing Climate Change: The United Nations and the World at Work.”
In his February 13th address, Archbishop Migliore noted some of the steps the Vatican is taking to offset their carbon footprints. Solar panels are scheduled to be installed in the Vatican. The Holy See is also participating in a tree planting project in Hungary, which will “provide environmental benefits to the host country, assist in the recovery of an environmentally degraded tract of land, and provide local jobs.”
He highlighted the shared responsibility of individuals and nations in protecting the planet.
“It is incumbent upon every individual and nation to seriously assume one’s share of the responsibility to find and implement the most balanced approach possible to this challenge,” he said. “Sustainable development provides the key to a strategy that harmoniously takes into account the demands of environmental preservation, climate change, economic development and basic human needs.”
