Leo XIV: Environment should not be an instrument of exchange to exercise power or exploit the poor

Pope Leo XIV declared that nature should not be an “exchange instrument” In his message entitled “Paz y Esperanza” For the 10th World Prayer Day for the Creation of Creation, which will be held on September 1.

Inspired by the encyclical Laudato yes Pope Francis, published 10 years ago, the Holy Father said that “the Bible does not promote ‘the despotic domain of the human being over what is created’” and, therefore, should not be exploited.

“Nature itself sometimes becomes an exchange instrument, a good that is negotiated to obtain economic or political advantages,” said León. “In these dynamics, creation becomes a battlefield for the control of vital resources.”

The Pope pointed out that poor nations, marginalized societies and indigenous communities are destabilized and penalized as a result of conflicts over water and natural resources, as well as by the destruction of forests and agricultural areas.

“These various wounds are a consequence of sin,” he added. “Without a doubt, this is not what God had in mind when he trusted the Earth to man created in his image.”

In his message on July 2, the Pope said three things are needed to achieve authentic environmental justice: prayer, determination and concrete actions.

León invited Catholics to consider in prayer the meaning of the seeds as a metaphor for the coming of the kingdom of God in the Scriptures, saying: “Many times, Jesus, in his preaching, uses the image of the seed.”

“In Christ we are seeds. Not only that, but ‘seeds of peace and hope,” he said. “As the prophet Isaiah says, the Spirit of God is able to transform the desert, arid and dry, into a garden, place of rest and serenity.”

Insisting that environmental justice is not an “abstract concept” or a “distant objective”, the Holy Father said that “it is time to move from words to the facts” in his message dedicated to the care of creation.

“Working with dedication and tenderness, many seeds of justice can be germinated, thus contributing to peace and hope,” he said.

This year, Pope León has twice visited places linked to the integral ecology projects of the Holy See outside Rome. In addition to visiting the Burgo Laudato Si ‘project In Castel Gandolfo in May, he toured the site proposed for the Vatican Solar Energy project in Santa Maria Di Gallery in June.

The Holy Father praised these initiatives, which serve as examples of “how you can live, work and form community applying the principles of the encyclical Laudato yes”.

“I beg the Almighty to send us in abundance his ‘Spirit from the top’, so that these seeds and other similar ones bear abundant fruits of peace and hope,” said the Pope.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.