God’s Creation

—Sixth and final in a series on the principle of social justice—
By Sean DeWitt

It may seem odd to start talking about stewardship or caring for God’s creation, in the same sentence as poverty, human dignity and other social justice issues. However, stewardship is crucial to affectively honoring the principles of social justice.

Going back to Genesis, God’s second command after be fertile and multiply was to fill the earth and subdue it [Genesis 1:28] (funny how almost all of these social justice principles can be tied to Genesis). God gave us, as a gift, this world and it is our job to further His creation to fulfill His plan. The responsibilities that come with stewardship are twofold: (1) communal and (2) generational.

1) Our communal responsibilities are focused on distributing the earth’s resources in order to serve the entire human family. Prudential, moderate and just use of the land and its resources is an integral part of caring for the poor and impoverished. Waste in the form of excess, improper use, or maltreatment of resources is detrimental to caring for the poor. As Benedict says in Caritas In Veritate: Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to others [51]. Practicing charity necessitates care for the environment because we cannot hold up the principles of social justice in one hand, and neglect God’s creation with the other.

2) Our generational responsibilities dominate the news in discussions on climate change and preservation of non-renewable resources. However most discussions are short sided in their scope, pertaining to the next generation and leaving out the true meaning of stewardship, which has a proper understanding of the whole human family, both now and for thousands of generations to come. As Abraham was thinking about his ancestors that would number the stars while he searched for the promise land, we too must look to the vast expanse that is the human family, serving and honoring the dignity of everyone that will follow us including the poor and impoverished. In fact, by taking care of God’s creation we ensure that there will be resources for those in later generations to serve the poor, affectively giving them the gift and the capacity to love.

Pope Benedict XVI captures these two ideas perfectly:

Human beings legitimately exercise a responsible stewardship over nature, in order to protect it, to enjoy its fruits and to cultivate it in new ways, with the assistance of advanced technologies, so that it can worthily accommodate and feed the world’s population. On this earth there is room for everyone: here the entire human family must find the resources to live with dignity , through the help of nature itself—God’s gift to His children—and through hard work and creativity. At the same time we must recognize our grave duty to hand the earth on to future generations in such a condition that they too can worthily inhabit it and continue to cultivate it. [50]

Though Catholic Charities does not directly work to promulgate this message, we do practice and support the protection of God’s creation. Recycling efforts, using extras from local grocers to feed the hungry, and teaching prudential living habits in self help classes, are a few indirect way in which Catholic Charities lives out our responsibilities to care for God’s creation. In the end, stewardship, being a Catholic initiative, is a direct concern for Catholic Charities in how we carry out our business practices. You can help our efforts to save paper by signing up for our electronic newsletter at http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001dCD0S6IuBsbjzWfdjxy4pk6yiI793Wf0