Dear Friends,
Last December fourteenth a much watched conference came to a close as the United Nations sponsored Climate Change Conference sought to craft a road map for negotiations leading to a new pact to reduce greenhouse gasses and ostensibly replace the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. More than 180 nations and experts met. The Holy See also had a delegation present. The negotiations were not easy, and the difficulty lied in the great gap between developed and developing worlds.
This gap can be seen in the way globalization has permanently changed the way in which we relate to the world around us. Consumerism and individualism has, in many ways, come to define and express our realities, aspirations and failures. As people of Catholic faith, we are called to defy these modern assumptions and live according to the Gospel. We do this by continuing to reject the global structures that create, maintain and promote policies that perpetuate world hunger, violence, poverty and inequality. By challenging these structures, we hope to change the lives of millions of poor and vulnerable sisters and brothers in Christ with whom we live and minister and work to heal the Earth.
Human-induced climate change is the most serious and pressing ecological challenge facing the United States and the world. And while all of us are affected by the changes taking place, our global sisters and brothers living in poverty and at the margins of society are the most vulnerable and least able to adapt. Yet, they have contributed the least to the greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming. With only 5% of the world's population, the U.S. emits approximately 25% of greenhouse gases generated by human activity.
As stated by Pope Benedict XVI in Sacramentum Caritatis, "The world is not something indifferent, raw material to be utilized simply as we see fit. Rather, it is part of God's good plan, in which all of us are called to be sons and daughters in the one Son of God, Jesus Christ (cf. Ephesians 1:4-12). The justified concern about threats to the environment present in so many parts of the world is reinforced by Christian hope, which commits us to working responsibly for the protection of creation."
This season of Christmas enlivens and strengthens once again the hopes of the world and our desire and capability to gather the muster of global solidarity in the key issues that affect humanity. We do so because Christ was born, lived and taught us what we must do, died, rose and sent the Holy Spirit to us all. That power given to us, guided by the principles of justice, stewardship, sustainability and sufficiency, is the way we bring to life God's dream for us all. Christ is the reason we can dream and to be the change we seek. Therefore no obstacle can be too great.
May this Christmas Season, with the birth of hope anew, fortify our vision of ourselves as a global family in faith, and may we teach our youth to help close the great gaps that estrange us from each other.
Peace,
Fr. Joe Matteucig, SX
Fr. Carl Chudy, SX
NO BORDERS TEAM OF THE XAVERIAN MISSIONARIES
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The St. Francis Xavier Missionaries, in service to Catholic youth, young adult ministry and campus ministry, present NO BORDERS as resource in the challenges of the 21st Century where US Catholic experiences of youth and young adults are more inter-cultural and inter-religious than ever before, and American Catholic life has broad, global implications in spirituality, morality, culture, politics, and economic outreach. The demands of faith in Christ have no borders, and that mission is driven by a passion for Christ and humanity.
If you received this letter, you were sent our first e-newsletter of No-Borders. To know how we can help you make the local/global connections of faith with youth and young adults, please contact us for a brochure.
We are grateful to our friends at the Columban Missionarie's Justice and Peace Office for some of the thoughts expressed in this letter. Please visit them at: Justice and Peace Office of the Columban Missionaries
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