“Take action now” against Environmental Degradation: South African Archbishop

In the August 24 pastoral letter, Archbishop Slattery highlights some of the effects of environmental degradation saying, “Every day we hear and see floods, fires, destruction of forests, expansion of deserts, the loss of drinking water, pollution of air.”

The Archbishop who will turn 78 next month continues, “The climate of the world is getting warmer and causing storms, drought, the rise of the level of the oceans which endangers millions.” 

“Millions leave the rural areas to move into violent ghettos. Each year the earth loses many different species of animals and plants, birds and fish which are now gone forever,” says the Archbishop who was at the helm of South Africa’s Pretoria Archdiocese until his retirement in April 2019.

He further notes that the disregard for the environment and other creation has led humanity to treat each other with contempt. 

“So, because we destroy the gifts of God in nature, we now find ourselves treating other people as objects whom we also disrespect,” the Archbishop who has been administering Mariannhill Diocese since his appointment last September says.   

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He explains, “We find in our world today human trafficking, organized crime, drug trade, abuse of women and abandonment of children. We live in a throwaway world and culture.” 

Future generations are at risk of living “in misery” if appropriate action is not taken to remedy the situation, Archbishop Slattery cautions, and adds, “If we continue to mistreat our world as we are now doing, it too will die and future generations will live in misery.”

As a way forward, the Catholic Church leader calls on all people “to do our little part” in  reclaiming the environment. 

“Pope Francis gives examples. We can begin by praying and reflecting. We can ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of gratitude and appreciation,” the member of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM) says. 

He adds that families and individuals can participate in conserving the environment by avoiding “the use of plastic and paper, reduce water consumption, reduce waste, cook only that which we wish to consume, show care for living things, use public transport, plant trees, turn off unnecessary lights and such things.”

“Doing this in gratitude for God's gifts will make us generous people, people with a soul and with appreciation that we are children of God,” the native of Ireland says.

In the pastoral letter, Archbishop Slattery announces that members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) have made September 15 Creation Day, a day of reflection and prayer. 

“During September, the Season of Creation, we will pray and respect creation,” he says, and notes that “for nine days leading up to October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, we will observe a private or public novena.”

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.