Environmental concern

I have a feeling like if someone were to suggest to someone like one of us that fixing the environment is one of the most pressing spiritual needs of our time, the reaction you would get from us would be something like if you suggested that being physically fit was one of the most pressing spiritual needs we face.  Sure, it's important, and it has potential spiritual ramifications (like everything does), but it's important more primarily in a worldly way than primarily in a spiritual way.  Not to be ignored, though, despite that it's a favorite way to for those who would prefer to focus mainly on societal problems to the detriment of personal sin to feel spiritually responsible about something.  The Pope thinks it's important enough to talk about, along with the head of the Greek Orthodox. 

Comments

[Neil]

One of my pet peeves is focusing on certian social issues, particularly ones which democrats are seen as more in line with the church teaching to the exclusion of everything else. Notre Dame seems to have this problem.

One complaint along these lines has to do with the cycling team having been prohibited from purchasing jerseys from a company that has some associations with China, though our jerseys weren't going to be made there whilst the book store distrubues advertisments for cheap magazines for student subscribers, while the list of discounted periodicals clearly contains some pornographic titles and whilst comcast sets up tables on campus lawns during movin days trying to sell programming packages which include pornographic channels. If the cycling team can't purchase from a business with association to china, then the university ought to refrain from profiting off illicit materials in my opinion. I'm not really against dealing with comcast, but I'm not really against dealing with china either. I would never deal with studentmags4u.com though. Also I probably wouldn't pay anyone to come to campus and sing a song titled, "Bitches ain't nothing but hoes and tricks," or any other songs that deny human dignity, espcially if they're sung by someone who identifies himself as corn hole.

This emphasis on certian issues shows itself other ways here too. Some of my friends who are fairly devout have said things like, "abortion isn't cool, but I can't tell a woman what to do with her body." I'm thinking of a particular fellow whom it would have been fairly easy to catechise properly if some effort had been made. This fellow even leads a prayer group. Rather the focus is on minimum wage and such. As far as I can tell, the Center for Social Concerns has nothing in opposition to abortion, but of course has some posters against death penalty, AIDS, homelessness, and such. When the rector of this fellow's dorm says mass at teh basillica the congregation has a hard time telling when to sit or stand because he's modified the liturgy so much. Indeed I have seen many examples of poor catechism in my conversations, and I'm not really that knowledgable on such things. I don't know of any mass at Notre Dame where a person can hear homilies similar to what Fr. Bill used to give, consisting of simple accurate points about why you should go to confession, how to apply the gospel to everyday life, how to deal with church teachings that don't immediately reconcile themselves to your conscience, and things of that ilk. That's not to say I don't appreciate the more academic homilies I usually hear from various visiting priests who regularly say mass in my residence, but they're given to a very specific audience-me, kevin, and sometimes a married couple.

The homily today at my home parish was about saving the environment and helping the poor. The priest also said something about not going to church only being a mortal sin if you think it's a mortal sin. Maybe it was a joke no one got though. Or maybe it was moral relativism.

The upshot is anytime I hear someone talk about certian issues I've become a bit suspicious, though if the pope does it some it can't be that bad.