Now is not a time to continue looking the other way, indifferent to the signs that our planet is being plundered and violated by greed for profit, Pope Francis said in a letter to mark World Environment Day.
Vatican News reports that the pontiff’s letter was to have been presented to participants at the International World Environment Day event in Bogota, Columbia, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic was held virtually.
Barranquilla, Colombia’s first “Biodivercity” - an urban area fully integrated with its local biodiversity- is pioneering the “biodivercities” project, with other cities to follow. The initiative responds to a call by the government of Colombia, host of #WorldEnvironmentDay 2020, to put nature at the centre of the country´s development model. PHOTO: UN Environment Programme, Instagram.
In a letter to Columban President Iván Duque Márquez, Pope Francis said the pandemic itself was a reminder of what could be done together for the environment.
“This challenging situation reminds us that in the face of adversity, new paths always open in order for us to be united as a great human family,” he said.
“The protection of the environment and respect for the biodiversity of the planet are issues that affect us all. We cannot pretend to be healthy in a world that is sick. The wounds inflicted on our mother earth are wounds that also bleed in us.
“Caring for ecosystems demands a look to the future, one that is not concerned only with the immediate moment or that seeks a quick and easy profit, but rather one that is concerned for life and that seeks its preservation for the benefit of all.”
Pope Francis said our attitude toward the present state of the planet should indeed make us concerned for and witnesses to the gravity of the situation.
“We cannot remain silent before the outcry when we realise the very high costs of the destruction and exploitation of the ecosystem,” he said.
“This is not a time to continue looking the other way, indifferent to the signs that our planet is being plundered and violated by greed for profit, very often in the name of progress. We have the chance to reverse course, to commit ourselves to a better, healthier world, and to pass it on to future generations. Everything depends on us if we really want it.”
The Pope reminded the president that recently we celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, “which drew attention to the cry that mother earth lifts up to us”.
“I would also invite all of you to participate in the special Year that I have announced to reflect in light of that document and, together, to become more committed to the care and protection of our common home, and of our most vulnerable and marginalised brothers and sisters in society.
“I encourage you in this task that lies before you. I trust that your deliberations and conclusions will always foster the building of an increasingly habitable world and a more humane society, where all of us have a place and no one is ever left behind.”