Crimes against Creation are being committed every day resulting in the death and destruction of many species of life, the pollution of our rivers and oceans and the impoverishment of many people. This violence against Creation is now an unending spiral which is out of control. Opportunists and big business exploit the forests and the land in order to become wealthy. They are backed by governments throughout the world. The president of Brazil, Bolsanaro, is a strong supporter of the deforestation taking place in the Amazon region. That spiral of violence must be brought to an end. There must be an international effort to bring these crimes to a halt. Thanks to many people and a young Swedish student Greta Thunberg, the world is now more aware of the destruction taking place. The nations of the world need to create an alternative way of producing food. If the destruction of our earth is not stopped within the next ten years, the existence of our planet is in peril.
These crimes against Creation are also crimes against humanity- and they are crimes against the God of all creation. It is the poor who suffer most when the natural world is plundered without regard for the cost to human lives. It is the rich and wealthy who benefit most from the exploitation of the natural resources of the earth.
As Pope Francis has clearly stated, these crimes are also sins: “For human beings to destroy the biological diversity of God’s Creation…to degrade the integrity of the earth, to contaminate the earth’s water, its land, its air and its life -these are sins.” (Laudato Si 8)
Each one of us has a responsibility to care for and promote respect for the natural world. We are the custodians of the earth for the next generation. Farmers and landowners have a special responsibility. Elected councils and governments also have a huge responsibility to ensure that laws to protect the earth are enforced and those who commit crimes against creation are punished.
The crisis we face with the destruction of the land, the pollution of the rivers and seas and the constant attacks on the bird and insect life is too serious and too urgent to be ignored, Time is running out for many forms of life on this planet. Many of us remember the sound of the corncrake long ago. The corncrake and many other forms of life have disappeared because they were destroyed by intensive farming methods introduced in the 1970s and 1980s by the European Union.
There are some things we can do immediately:
Reduce the single use of plastic/Avoid waste /Reuse /Plant trees/Stop cutting hedges and lawns which are the habitats of insect and bird life/Cut down on personal carbon gas emissions/stop the use of herbicides and pesticides
Those responsible in the local councils have a great responsibility to bring an end to the destruction of the biodiversity which is so necessary for the bees, insects and birds. Farmers have a huge responsibility to protect the natural world.
The crimes committed against Creation must be brought to an end.
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