The pastoral and state visit of His Holiness, Pope Francis, in the Philippines, which started on January 15 and ends today, did not only focus on issues concerning Christian faith, social justice, equality, and other social and moral concerns, but also touched on matters relating to environment and natural resources.
This is not actually surprising, since by choosing the name Francis, he already showed to the whole world, right after his election as the latest successor of Saint Peter, that he truly cares for nature.
He used the name of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is a known Patron Saint of nature, because of his extraordinary love for animals. In his statement during his first appearance with the media as the head of the Catholic Church in 2013, the Pope said, “That is how the name came into my heart, Francis of Assisi. For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation. These days, we do not have very good relations with creation, do we?”
During his courtesy call on President Benigno Aquino III in Malacañang January 16, the Pope categorically emphasized the need to preserve our rich human and natural resources, which the Philippines has been blessed with, according to the Holy Father, who is also the head of the small Vatican state. However, it necessitates that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good, the Pope declared.
This is a very clear message of the Pope that directly links governance in natural resources, conservation and environmental protection. By ensuring the common good, our political leaders should have the commitment and integrity to safeguards the right of the people to a healthy environment over personal vested interests.
This is particularly important in the country, because of the rapid deterioration of our natural resources and the massive environmental degradation we are facing today. Honestly and integrity are very necessary in governance so that our national resources shall be properly managed and secured from corruption.
While on board the papal plane on his way to the Philippines, the Pope was quoted in numerous media reports as saying that the global warming the entire world is experiencing today is man-made. Pope Francis believes this is largely because the people had tremendously exploited nature. But he is also glad that many people are talking about it now. The Pope will release his encyclical on ecology this year, which hopefully will further advance the debate and initiatives in combating climate change.
During his encounter with the youth at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila yesterday, the Pope also mentioned that one of the major challenges in the Philippines is the climate change. While he did not elaborate on this, it is to my opinion that the Pope is very aware of the country’s vulnerability to the impacts of the climate change, including our susceptibility to the hazards and risks of disasters and calamities. I was expecting him to mention about this while in Tacloban on Saturday, but he did focus more on sufferings and inspirations brought about by the devastation of super typhoon Yolanda.
In his final message to the youth at the UST, His Holiness singled out the concern on environmental protection, which he identified as one of his priorities from the very start of his mission as the present successor of Saint Peter in the Roman Catholic Church.*
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