VATICAN GOES GREEN OVER THE SUMMER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VATICAN 000129 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV VT SUBJECT: VATICAN GOES GREEN OVER THE SUMMER VATICAN 00000129 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. Ecology and the environment predominated in material coming out of Rome during the usually languid summer months. At the forefront of " die gr|ne revolution" was Pope Benedict XVI, who before a variety of audiences recalled the Catholic Church's teachings on the right to water, conservation, pollution, green house gasses and the ubiquitous carbon footprint. The Pope even made the top 10 environmental-friendly religious leaders list published by an on-line environmental magazine. ¶2. The Vatican's green theme began early June when during a ceremony to welcome new ambassadors, Pope Benedict told Iceland's emissary that even though the world's resources were limited, not all countries observed the duty to implement policies to prevent the destruction of what the pontiff described as "natural capital." Mid-July saw the start of a project that would make Vatican City the world's first carbon-neutral sovereign state: U.S.-based Planktos Inc. and its Hungarian counterpart will designate part of a reforestation project in Hungary as the Vatican Climate Forest. The size of the forest and the number of trees planted will depend directly on the Vatican's 2007 energy use. In a similar vein, the Vatican announced earlier that it would install 1000 solar panels on the papal audience hall's football-field size roof to produce "clean energy" for the city state in 2008. The Vatican said safeguarding the environment was not something to be resolved by politicians, but rather an ethical and cultural issue. ¶3. Pope Benedict, it seems, believes ecology could hold the key to teaching young people about Christian morality. He understands that ecology is a widely accepted moral concern, but one that points much deeper: nature itself teaches that some things are naturally right and some are naturally wrong. The pontiff said July 24 that everyone today can see that man could destroy the foundation of his existence - his Earth - and that "we can no longer simply use this Earth, this reality entrusted to us, to do what we want or what appears useful and promising" at one particular point in time. Benedict said the destruction of the environment is "a stark example of how future survival requires that people obey the laws of nature." ¶4. It was this message that Pope Benedict preached to half a million young people gathered at the Italian shrine of Loreto on September 1. He told them that the created world belongs to everyone and must be protected. The pope said today's ecological situation required courageous choices. "There should be a decisive `yes' to the protection of the created world and a strong commitment to reverse those tendencies that could lead to situations of irreparable degradation," he said. The pope highlighted water as a resource in danger of becoming a motive for conflict unless it was shared equally. ¶5. Concern over equitable access to water was a theme in the pope's message for the seventh Religion, Science and the Environment symposium on the Arctic, held in Greenland September 6-13. Benedict urged industrialized nations to share clean technology with developing nations, as well as to curb the demand for goods that damage the environment. The pope's message summarized the ecological theme that the Holy See had been promoting throughout the summer months when he wrote, "Preservation of the environment, promotion of sustainable development and particular attention to climate change are matters of grave concern for the entire human family." Comment -------------- ¶6. While Holy See concern for ecology and the environment is not new, the renewed emphasis this summer suggests that it has decided to maintain a higher profile on the issue, and perhaps to begin advocating particular policies and practices more vigorously. At the same time, the environmental theme can be seen metaphorically, as a strategy to endear Catholic teachings to a wider audience, particularly idealistic young people. The focus provides the Holy See an appealing entrie to preach a broader moral message of adherence to a natural law or divine plan that clearly indicates what is good or bad for human kind. VATICAN 00000129 002.2 OF 002 End comment. SANDROLINI