Confronting climate change not the only reason some Catholics work to bring stewardship message
Down to Earth

By Ambria Hammel, The Catholic Sun
April 19, 2007

Teams of scientists plan to release a report next month outlining how individuals can slow global climate change, but some Catholics are already doing their part locally.

Yet their motives aren’t attributed solely to scientific studies or to the April 22 Earth Day — they do so because they are called by God to be good stewards of His creation.

“We’re saying not to be careful because you’ll run out of resources, but be careful because God has put you as His lieutenant, as His place holder,” said Franciscan Father Alonso de Blas, associate pastor at St. Mary’s Basilica.

St. Francis of Assisi developed a spirituality of descending solidarity between humanity and creation, said Franciscan Sister Ilia Delio, a professor at the Washington Theological Union.

Yet, she said, some people still see their dominion over creation, not their responsibility for it. Though the Catechism of the Catholic Church claims human beings are called to be “stewards of God” as they subdue the Earth, they are not meant to be “arbitrary and destructive in their domination.”

St. Francis became the patron of ecology in 1979. Gardens often feature a statue portraying the 13th century mendicant feeding birds. Catholics follow his spirituality in many ways.

Reusing God’s goods

Like St. Francis, schools and parishes throughout the diocese consider nothing accidental or excessive. That’s why they recycle and reuse what resources they can in order to preserve the environment.

Parishioners at Our Lady of the Lake in Lake Havasu City have been recycling cartridges from printers and fax machines for at least five years. Neither is biodegradable and 80 percent of them end up in landfills, according to eCycle Group.

The parish preschool heads up the collection and redeems the cartridges for cash with a company that prepares them for resale.

“You’re using what God gave you and you’re trying to use it to the fullest,” said Deacon Jeff Arner, the preschool’s director.

Parishioners at St. Raphael in Glendale recycle newspapers and cardboard in exchange for money for the church’s general fund. Ray Kultala spearheaded the effort.

“It comes from a natural product to begin with, so why not return it?” Kultala said.

He had been recycling his newspapers in a bin at a nearby Baptist church, but realized his parish had room for the same bins. St. Raphael now has three bins on site that parishioners and community members fill every three weeks.

Students at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Glendale and St. John Bosco Interparish School in Phoenix collect paper and plastic for recycling.

Teacher Angela Church launched a recycling effort at Our Lady of Perpetual Help three years ago after realizing she was constantly taking recyclables home because the campus didn’t have a collection area. The school now has six with pickups twice a week.

Students “definitely realize that we’ve been given things. We need to take care of it so it can last,” Church said.

Members of the St. John Bosco Conserve and Preserve group collect paper and plastic, filling four 64-gallon recycling bins weekly.

“It’s what the Church calls for,” eighth-grader Rachel Lincoln said about helping the environment.

Sr. Ilia agreed. Catholics should help creation attain its fulfillment in Christ.

“What we do matters to the matter of the universe,” she said.

Tending God’s garden

The conservation group at St. John Bosco tends the campus garden during its meetings. It has plant, vegetable and worm beds for each grade to study.

“I think it’s really important for kids to be outside and to be with nature and just kind of getting their hands dirty,” said science teacher Patrice Whalen. She hopes their experiences will help the students continue to be earth-conscious into adulthood.

“Only if we spend time with nature will we be impelled to act on behalf of nature,” Sr. Ilia said. “We must see things for what they are in their individual creation, each uniquely loved into being by a God of infinite love. But this type of penetrating vision requires time to deepen.”

She encourages Catholics to spend time with nature and tend to its inner life.

“For too long, we have treated the non-human creation as a backdrop or stage for human salvation. Christianity, with its emphasis on human salvation and dominion over nature, made it possible to exploit nature in a mood of indifference to the feelings of natural objects,” Sr. Ilia said.

People tend to identify more with material things than with Earth’s living beings, Sr. Ilia said.

Fr. de Blas agreed.

“It would be good for us to realize we are brothers of all else that is,” he said. “We just have a more sentient life as opposed to rocks, ambulatory life as opposed to trees, intelligent life as opposed to animals.”

Clearing the air

Fr. de Blas said taking steps to improve the air quality is one of the many ways Catholics can be good stewards of creation.

Anna Shugars already does. The St. Rose Philippine Duchesne parishioner formed a carpool two years ago with co-workers who live in and around Anthem. Shugars drives the vehicle provided by Valley Metro’s Rideshare program.

Not only do the handful of regular riders enjoy good conversation during their 70-mile round-trip journey, but by easing traffic congestion, they keep the air cleaner.

Since Shugars’ passengers don’t have to worry about driving, they enjoy the desert landscape scenery.

“Some of the routes we take are actually very pretty,” Shugars said.

Some of the sisters also take steps to reduce pollution. Sr. Jean Steffes, CSA, chancellor for the diocese, and other sisters in her congregation, began driving hybrid vehicles in 2002.

Their cars average more than 40 miles per gallon and alternate between a gas and electric engine.

Sr. Jean said it’s important to find ways to reduce pollution such as driving hybrid cars or walking for small trips.

“Those kinds of things make us better citizens of this beautiful Earth that God gave us,” she said.

Students at St. John Bosco found a simple way to keep the air clean. They laid four tons of gravel in their prayer garden earlier this month which helps with erosion control.

Staff at the Foundation for Senior Living is also doing their part to reduce blowing dust. The agency — which offers housing and care services for seniors and adults with disabilities — is building homes that respect the environment.

Each new project will incorporate green building principles, which means that designers plan with the natural landscape and builders use more earth-friendly materials to reduce dust and energy pollution.

“We’re trying to create living examples of how it can be done practically and affordably,” said Guy Mikkelsen, president and CEO of the foundation. He said the organization is applying the best of Catholic social teaching: “Show the way, show the way.”

Current projects include The Caring Place’s regional offices at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Scottsdale and a planned day care center in the South Mountain community. A senior apartment complex scheduled for completion by 2010 is also in the works.

To become good stewards of creation, Sr. Ilia said, Catholics need to develop an environmental awareness as part of a new ecological spirituality.

“By destroying the Earth, we are destroying modes of God’s presence in creation,” she said. “In a sense we are crucifying Christ, over and over.”