Talk about setting an example for the faithful. In a move that reflects great concern for the environment, the Vatican is turning green. A story yesterday on CNN said that solar panels will be installed on the roof on one of the Vatican auditoriums to convert sunlight into electricity, and that other buldings, excluding the St. Peter's Basilica, may follow the same route. I applaud Pope Benedict for taking action.
No doubt the movement for "faith-based environmental evangelism"is growing among world religions. And yet I'm inclined to believe that dichotomies between environmental stewardship and faith still exist for many Christians. Certainly it exists in my own relationship with my boyfriend Paul, who, I'm unhappy to say, doesn't quite get it. Paul is a truly good human being, kind, gentle, God-fearing and concerned for others. And yet I continue to have a good deal of difficulty communicating to him my fears about the environment. Enjoining him to live green and low-impact is a battle of wills -- passive on his side, increasingly frustrated on mine. He agrees quite goodnaturedly to my pleas to green our lives, and yet in the next breath he will ask me whether he should buy a hulking black fully loaded gas-guzzling altogether obnoxious Nissan Xterra SE.
I'm at best a lapsed Catholic, and I'm inclined to think of claiming responsibility for the environment, for my own footprint, as a moral imperative, unquestionably necessary (many others will disagree) and inseparable from love for neighbor. Pope Benedict appealed to charity and consequentialism, calling on Christians "to unite and care of creation without squandering its resources" and to change "damaging lifestyle choices" which are making "the lives of poor people on Earth especially unbearable." No matter the motivation, I'm still banking on Paul's faith to show him the light so to speak, so he and I can see eye to eye and we can change the way we live for the good of the environment.
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