Laudato Si and the Ecumenical Movement for the Care of Creation
Written By: Mervin Sol H. Toquero, National Council of Churches in the Philippines
Laudato Si’ and its urgent message for the care of creation should resonate well among Filipinos. Whenever we talk about the Philippine environment, we cannot help but be in awe at the richness of our country and marvel at the beauty of God’s creation. However, we are also instantly saddened to know that despite this richness, our environment is also one of the world’s “biodiversity hotspots” where our rich and diverse species are threatened if not endangered. We are also one of the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change.
The State and big businesses sacrifice the environment and the welfare of the Filipino people, in exchange for foreign capital through plunder and massive exploitation of the environment.
The government of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is seemingly blind to the crisis that economic globalization has wrought. It attracts foreign investors through the country’s remaining raw materials so that the country can be “globally competitive” in order for precious dollars to pour in to improve the economy.
The government promotes irreversible extractive industries like cash-crop economy, massive land-use conversion and intensified mining, thereby further destroying the environment. With sky-rocketing demands for minerals used for green energy technologies – like nickel and copper – the country has been repositioned as a leading exporter of “transition minerals”. This opened key biodiversity sites or areas critical to mitigating the climate crisis to mining explorations and operations.
These practices have long resulted in submersion of communities and villages, siltation of water resources, air pollution, and further vulnerability to the climate crisis. The twin onslaughts in 2024 of drought brought about by El Niño and the successive typhoons in the latter half of the year brought by La Niña are testaments to the negative impacts of our distressed environment. To make matters worse, the environmentally destructive programs and projects are almost always accompanied by military operations thus causing grave human rights violations and displacement of thousands of farmers and Indigenous peoples. Those who oppose these programs and projects are constantly threatened.
The country has become a big source of cheap raw materials and labour and is a dumping ground of surplus products. In a nutshell, the Philippine environment is sacrificed at the altar of profit.
Worse, instead of ensuring the welfare of the people, especially those affected by the impacts climate change due to a distressed environment like the survivors of the aforementioned typhoons and the farmers affected by drought, the government prioritizes its war against alleged “communist terrorists” providing billions of pesos to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). The NTF-ELCAC has red-tagged people and communities defending their lands and the environment. Counter-insurgency efforts have seen troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, serving as Investment Defense Forces, move into resource-rich regions where communities oppose displacement and extractive industries, especially mining.
How do we confront the ecological crisis and the attendant issues it brings? Situated amidst a society ravaged by foreign exploiters and their local counterparts and equipped with the realization that the alarming rate of environmental destruction cannot be barred without systemic changes, we should have concerted efforts for environmental protection. That is why we are very glad for the issuance of Laudati Si’ by Pope Francis because it mirrors the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)’s environmental ministry. I will share with you those similarities.
For the NCCP, ecumenical response is the answer to avert the crisis. Ecumenical in the sense that churches, faith-based groups and all sectors that are affected by the ravaged state of the environment, should act. Ecology and ecumenism come from similar origins, ecology comes from the Greek words “oikos” and “logos” which mean “house” and “knowledge” respectively, while ecumenism is derived from “oikoumene” coming from the Greek word “oikein” which means to inhabit. The oikoumene encompasses ecological concerns because it is a:
“…relational, dynamic concept beyond the fellowship of Christians and churches to the human community within the whole creation.” (NCCP, 1995).
Creation is important in the understanding and living of biblical faith especially in the struggle for peace and justice. From Genesis to Revelation, the unity of creation, including humanity, is a continuing theme. Throughout human history, God’s creative work, judgment and redemptive acts are revealed as well as in the renewal and transformation of creation and the hope for the new heaven and the new earth. St. Francis of Assisi, whose prayer “Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace,” was a good example of an environmental ministry. This is also in line with the view of Indigenous peoples that the sanctity of life is interwoven with the spirituality of creation of which the concept of “Land is Life” is very strong. To care for creation is to become good stewards of it, a resounding call that encourages solidarity and action among different faiths, as the encyclical letter emphasized.
The concept of creation permeates in the whole Bible and salvation can be understood as the act of redemption of humanity and the whole creation. In the Philippines, this view implies that the issue of ecology and environment is not separate from the perspective of the over-all struggles for justice and peace. People’s actions for the protection of the environment should be viewed in the context of the country’s history and the struggles of the Filipino people for a better life.
And what can churches do to further avert this disconcerting situation? Churches can provide support and encouragement for the ecological movement, which is the people’s movement. Churches can impart ways in the reorientation and practices in relation to environment in their constituencies and communities they serve, and they can help open other prospects for enhancing the lives and livelihood of people. Churches too are in a strategic position to respond locally to the manifestations of the climate emergency and plunder of God’s Creation; while cooperating globally in pursuit of real solutions and mitigation, accountability, and reparations from those driving and benefitting from this ecological crisis. By looking into the social, scientific and spiritual aspects of ecological protection, churches can become “tabernacles” that accompany the people in their journey towards “the promised land”.
It is equally difficult after knowing the state of our environment and reading Laudato Si’ to remain uninspired to act for environmental protection. We celebrate the life of Pope Francis and Laudato Si’ which is one of his lasting legacies. Let us celebrate Jubilee 2025 by working hand in hand against the ravagers of the earth, so that the ecological crisis is averted and “creation itself to be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).
