Philippine Church flags off Season of Creation
The Philippines has enthusiastically joined Pope Francis and the world’s some 2.2 billion Christians in the month-long initiative of prayer and action to safeguard and improve the created world, our common home.
Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan pointed out that unless there is a true ecological conversion, the attempt to pursue the concern for the environment is bound to fail.
Humble ecological conversion
Bishop David, who is standing in for Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), pointed out that the coronavirus pandemic has not only made us aware of “our vulnerabilities”, but “it also made us realize how helpless we can be despite all the scientific and technological advances that we think we have achieved.”
“There is no way we can face the future with hope in the face of a climate emergency unless we respond with humility to the urgent call for ecological conversion,” Bishop David said.
The Season of Creation ends on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology, who is greatly loved by many Christian denominations. The World Council of Churches (WCC) has chosen “Jubilee for the Earth” as the theme of this year’s Season of Creation, explaining it is “to advocate for life sanctification and give rest to all Creation”.
Initiatives
The Church in the Philippines has extended its Season of Creation by a week to October 11. The initiative is being organized by the Global Catholic Climate Movement – Pilipinas (GCCM Pilipinas) and its partners, with the backing by the CBCP.
“During this time, we are asked to focus on God as our Creator and we as creatures in communion with all that was brought into being by the work of His hands,” said GCCM Pilipinas president, Fr. John Leydon.
The GCCM Pilipinas is providing liturgical resources and platforms to highlight ecological struggles in different communities around the country and the initiatives being made to address them. These resources are made available to the general public through its social media platforms.
