The Pope and Our Planet

"The world is in urgent need of Catholics who work to protect the environment," Pope Benedict XVI said at the closing Mass of his September 2 meeting with 500,000 young people in Loreto, Italy.

“I know,” the pope affirmed, “that many of you dedicate yourselves with generosity to bear witness to your own faith in various social ambits. One of the areas in which work appears to be urgent is without a doubt that of protecting Creation.

“Development has not always known how to safeguard the delicate equilibrium of nature. Before it is too late, it is necessary to make courageous decisions … to re-create a strong alliance between man and the earth.

“A decisive ‘yes’ to the protection of Creation is necessary, [as is] a firm commitment to reverse those tendencies that run the risk of bringing about situations of unstoppable degradation.”