English Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said that people should not regard the Pope’s encyclical “Laudato Si’” as puritanical in its message.
At a press conference following the release of Laudato Si’, the cardinal was asked about the encyclical’s appeal for “sobriety and self-denial”.
Cardinal Nichols said that people needed to go beyond reading the encyclical in a “puritanical way”.
He said Pope Francis wanted the faithful to recognise that when it comes to consumerism “less is better”.
The cardinal added that being trapped on an escalator where you “always want more” is not a “happy escalator”.
Cardinal Nichols also highlighted that the encyclical made clear that when we purchase any object we make an ethical choice and that indviduals should ask themselves “do I need this?”
Among the many messages in Laudato Si’ the Pope wrote: “A constant flood of new consumer goods can baffle the heart and prevent us from cherishing each thing and each moment.”
Cardinal Nichols described the encyclical as a thoroughly Catholic teaching document.
Meanwhile, the Church of England’s General Synod is set to approve a proposal that asks congregations to skip lunch on the first day of each month.
A motion to be launched by the Bishop Nicholas Holtam of Salisbury will require bishops and vicars to “encourage prayer and fasting for climate justice on the first day of each month”.
Bishop Holtam has described climate change as “the most pressing moral issue in our world”.
The plea is part of a green overhaul by the Church of England which will also see trainee priests instructed in “eco theology” and “eco-justice” alongside the Bible.
The new subject for theological colleges is designed to ensure that the next generation of vicars become “enablers for others in seeking change and a sustainable future”.
Two days before the Pope’s encyclical was released, the Archbishop of Canterbury produced a declaration signed by British faith leaders calling for a low carbon economy.
Sources