By Judie Brown
In the 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), St. John Paul II made two profound statements about the environment and the obligations of man.
In section 9 he said: “Murderous violence profoundly changes man’s environment. From being the ‘garden of Eden’ (Gen 2:15), a place of plenty, of harmonious interpersonal relationships and of friendship with God, the earth becomes ‘the land of Nod’ (Gen 4:16), a place of scarcity, loneliness and separation from God.”
And in section 42 he said:
As one called to till and look after the garden of the world (cf. Gen 2:15), man has a specific responsibility towards the environment in which he lives, towards the creation which God has put at the service of his personal dignity, of his life, not only for the present but also for future generations. It is the ecological question-ranging from the preservation of the natural habitats of the different species of animals and of other forms of life to “human ecology” properly speaking 28 – which finds in the Bible clear and strong ethical direction, leading to a solution which respects the great good of life, of every life.
These two statements explain the simple truth that, in order for man’s dominion over the earth to be rational and well ordered, he must first and foremost respect the gift of life given by God to every human being from his creation.* In other words, without respect for the human person, the environment as we know it cannot survive. So when President Donald J. Trump announced that the United States would pull out of the Paris climate accord, I was astounded to read what allegedly Catholic pro-abortion former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to say about it.
You see, the word “accord” means consistency or harmony with others. And in the case of the environment and its protection, there can be no harmony when babies are killed under cover of law. Man cannot be the steward of an environment that enables him to kill his progeny.
So I thought to myself: “Surely even Pelosi can figure that out.”
Sadly, I was wrong.
Pelosi stated: “The Bible tells us that to minister to the needs of God’s creation is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us and that is just what we are doing by walking away from this accord.”
What? Does she not know that approving of and advocating for the direct killing of human beings created in the image and likeness of God is the most egregious act of dishonoring God that anyone could ever do? What Bible is she reading?
While Pelosi has used her religion to mark out territory when dealing with born people and has attempted to assure them that she cares deeply about the least of her brethren, we note the astute words of one writer who opined: “‘The least of my brethren’ teaching is about taking care of the most vulnerable members of society, a value that Pelosi strays from in her unrelenting support of abortion on demand. Nearly 1 million unborn babies are killed in abortions every year in the United States, making them some of the most vulnerable members of society today.”
Indeed, one could venture to propose that the one person who might have led the world into a future where we all take better care of each other and the environment has been slaughtered in an abortion. We will never know.
There is a lot to ponder in this age when God is, according to many, irrelevant. As Cardinal Sarah pointed out: “The book of Proverbs tells us: ‘Where there is no vision, discernment, the people perish’ (29, 18). Discern carefully—in your lives, your homes, your workplaces—how, in your nation, God is being eroded, eclipsed, liquidated.”
Know this with certainty: There is no “accord” that will be of any value anywhere until man is in accord with God and cares for His precious children—both born and preborn.
*creation (biological beginning/conception/fertilization)
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