Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the first pope ever to call
himself Francis, after the saint of Assisi.
Saint Francis (San Francesco in Italian, San Francisco in Spanish) has
been recognized through the centuries for his ardent love of all Creation. He is often pictured preaching happily to
doves, or else stroking the famous wolf of Gubbio. The Pope has chosen the month of June, a few
days before the summer solstice and six days ahead of Saint John's Day, to
release an important papal document or letter, called an encyclical. Mother Nature's cycle of reproduction
practically peaks on Saint John's Day, the 24th of June, a Pagan and Christian
holiday alike. (Midsummer's Eve, the occasion
for a Shakespearean comedy, is the night of the 23rd.) Pope Francis' long-awaited encyclical will
address mankind's right relationship with the earth and decry the consequences
of policies which are destroying the natural world and degrading living conditions
for all, especially for the poorest people on the planet. In touch with an Austrian missionary in the
Brazilian rainforest, Bishop Erwin Krautler, and also with former Franciscan
friar Leonardo Boff, active in South America as well, Pope Francis, a native of
Argentina, has long kept one eye on conditions for both indigenous peoples and tropical
rainforests. Before him, Popes John Paul
II and Benedict also spoke on behalf of Creation, arguing that good
environmental stewardship is a moral imperative, and that the environment must
be protected for future generations.
Pope Francis, however, will advance the cause of Mother Earth, who is
now under terrible stress, by making the necessary connection between greed and
environmental degradation. Mysteriously
leaked this week against the Pope's wishes and now partially translated into
English ahead of schedule by a major American newspaper, this encyclical will
condemn overconsumption and our wasteful use of natural resources, including
fossil fuels, as well as the throwaway mentality (usa e getta) so prevalent today.
It will carry within it a controversial warning that mankind may very well be having an impact on
climate change (or global warming), as well as on desertification and contamination
of the elements. The document will also
discuss "human ecology," the way people treat each other, and tie that
brutal reality in with the way we tend to treat our planet, and plant and animal
life with us. Bergoglio writes, "The
poor and the Earth are shouting." Can
we hear them? Do we want to hear
them? If not, the word sin as it relates
to both our ignorance and our inaction will come into play. One line from the leaked draft reads, "Enlighten
the masters of power and money so that they should not fall prey to the sin of
indifference, so that they should love the common good, support the weak, and
care about this world that we inhabit."
Do we, as individuals, Christian or not, care about the fate of the
earth and mankind? That's the
question. "The attitudes hindering
the paths towards a solution, even amongst the believers, go from negating the
problem to that of indifference, to an easy resignation, or to a blind faith in
technical solution." There's that
word "indifference" again. This
lush, often stormy time of year marks a turning point in the natural
progression of the seasons, awarding us the longest days and the shortest nights
here in the Northern hemisphere, and thus, this moment is the mirror opposite
of the Winter Solstice. At St John's
Tide, Mother Earth is breathing out; she has been dreaming up growth in her
sleep. Spring's promise of new life is
coming to maturity both in the outer world of Mother Nature this month and also
within our souls. This season, according
to Austrian mystic, philosopher, educator, artist and social reformer, Rudolf Steiner,
is that of the Archangel Uriel, whose name means "Light of God." May the Light of God shine strongly this week
on the words of Pope Francis' environmental encyclical, strongly enough for all
to see, and hear, and hopefully, make a decision to care. About the earth, about all creatures, and about
our own vital connection to it all. UN'AMERICANA A VENEZIA
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