Cardinal Turkson: All faiths must work together on ecological crisis
(Vatican Radio) The President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Peter Turkson, on Monday sent greetings to a two-day Islamic Climate Change Symposium taking place in Istanbul.
In a Message presented by Fr. John T. Brinkman, Cardinal Turkson called the on-going ecological crisis “the gravest and most intractable of all” the problems facing the modern world.
“A great motivation which unites Christians, Muslims and many others is the firm belief in God,” the Message reads.
“This faith compels us to care for the magnificent gift he has bestowed upon us – and, God-willing, upon those, who will follow us. Our urgent action will surely be more effective if we believers of different religious communities find ways to work together.”
The full text of the Message is below
Solidarity Message from the Catholic Faith
to theIslamic Climate Change Symposium
Istanbul, 17-18 August 2015
To all gathered here in Istanbul to launch the Islamic Climate Change Declaration, it gives me great pleasure to convey the warm greetings and solidarity of H.E. Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Vatican City.
It is clear that we are living at a particularly turbulent and decisive moment in world history. Humanity faces a number of urgent challenges which demand our prayers and action. The on-going ecological crisis is the gravest and most intractable of all.
Earlier this year, Pope Francis issued an encyclical letter, Laudato si’, in which he invites each living person to undergo an ecological conversion of heart. We have to re-imagine our commitment to what he calls “the care of our common home”, this planet, the earth, in the light of our faith. It is not enough, he says, to propose merely technical solutions, for they are “powerless to solve the serious problems of our world if humanity loses its compass, if we lose sight of the great motivations which make it possible for us to live in harmony, to make sacrifices and to treat others well.” (LS, 200)
A great motivation which unites Christians, Muslims and many others is the firm belief in God. This faith compels us to care for the magnificent gift he has bestowed upon us – and, God-willing, upon those, who will follow us. Our urgent action will surely be more effective if we believers of different religious communities find ways to work together.
So, it is with great joy and in a spirit of solidarity that I express to you the promise of the Catholic Church to pray for the success of your initiative and her desire to work with you in the future to care for our common home and thus to glorify the God who created us.
Presented by
Fr. John T. Brinkman, M.M.