Cardinal Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo urged Catholics to continue caring for creation beyond the Church’s “Month for Protecting All Life,” and warned against treating the earth as a human entitlement rather than something entrusted to humanity’s care.
In his reflection on Oct. 4, the prelate said the end of the monthlong observance should not mark the end of efforts inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’.
“Of course, the end of this month does not mean the end of what Pope Francis called for in ‘Laudato Si’,” Kikuchi said.
The observance began Sept. 1 and ended Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
Kikuchi drew on the Gospel parable of the vineyard, in which farmers failed to fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to them, to reflect on humanity’s relationship with creation.
He said Pope Francis had similarly warned that people had failed to carry out their responsibility to care for the earth.
“Pope Francis pointed out that, just like those farmers, we humans, despite being given the task entrusted to us by God when he created us—namely, the mission to ‘subdue the land, cultivate it, and protect it’—have squandered and exploited it as if it were a vested right, and have not faithfully fulfilled the task given to us by God,” Kikuchi said.
The cardinal cited Laudato Si’ on three relationships concerning life: “a relationship with God, a relationship with our neighbor, and a relationship with the earth.”
Quoting the encyclical, he said: “According to the Bible, these three relationships concerning life have been torn apart, both outwardly and within us. This rupture is sin (66).”
Kikuchi also cited Francis’ warning that humanity had disrupted the harmony of creation by refusing to recognize its limitations.
“By our audacity in substituting ourselves for God and refusing to acknowledge our limitations as created beings, we have disrupted the harmony between the Creator, mankind, and all creation. This has distorted our duty to govern the earth, to cultivate it, and to protect it,” he said.
He said Christian teaching on humanity’s place in creation could not be used to justify domination over the natural world.
“The Pope clearly states: ‘Today, we must resolutely reject the view that our creation in God’s image and our dominion over the earth justifies our tyrannical and oppressive rule over other creations (67),’” Kikuchi said.
The cardinal linked the warning to the first reading from Isaiah, which describes a vineyard that failed to produce good fruit despite the care given to it.
“The God who guides us through the twists and turns of our lives is truly the God who planted the grapevine and entrusted us with its care. He is the God who waits for a good harvest,” Kikuchi said.
In a message accompanying the reflection, he urged Catholics to continue putting the spirit of Laudato Si’ into practice after the formal observance ended.
“However, our duty to protect and enrich the homes in which we live together does not end, so let’s continue our efforts to embody the spirit of ‘Laudato Si’.’”
