A Christian View of Man and Nature

Some days ago I read a very interesting article from Zenit.org: A Christian View of Man and Nature - Ten Commandments for the Environment dated NOV. 12, 2005.

Truly, as the article underlines, "mankind is called to exercise a responsible stewardship over creation. "

This was the appeal made by Legionary Father Paolo Scarafoni when he opened a congress on the theme "Ethics and the Environment," at the European University of Rome last Monday. In his speech Father Scarafoni, rector of the university, explained that this Christian vision of stewardship is based on the idea of the human person as a free and intelligent creature, called to help develop the created world. This is not to be confused with a triumphalistic view of the human condition and actions, which belongs to a scientific and idealistic view of human nature, the priest said. Rather, Catholic ethics is based on the commandment of love, which is conscious of human errors but also confident that people can do good with the help of God's grace.

I post here only the last portion of the article that speaks of an attitude that a christian should consider in order to be true in his vocation as steward.

" Lifestyles should be oriented according to the principles of sobriety, temperance and self-discipline, both at the personal and social levels. People need to escape from the consumer mentality and promote methods of production that respect the created order, as well as satisfying the basic needs of all. This change of lifestyle would be helped by a greater awareness of the interdependence between all the inhabitants of the earth. A spiritual response must be given to environmental questions, inspired by the conviction that creation is a gift that God has placed in the hands of mankind, to be used responsibly and with loving care. People's fundamental orientation toward the created world should be one of gratitude and thankfulness. The world, in fact, leads people back to the mystery of God who has created it and continues to sustain it. If God is forgotten, nature is emptied of its deepest meaning and left impoverished. If, instead, nature is rediscovered in its role as something created, mankind can establish with it a relationship that takes into account its symbolic and mystical dimensions. This would open for mankind a path toward God, creator of the heavens and the earth."