Vatican City, Sep 1, 2016 / 02:32 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As the Catholic and Orthodox worlds unite to celebrate a day of prayer for the care of creation, the Vatican’s social justice head is offering a reminder that the human person must be at the center of efforts to better the environment.
“It's very simple: the core of development is the human person. And that's why Pope Benedict referred to development as a vocation. It's a vocation that we people have and that basically is a spiritual reference,” Cardinal Turkson told CNA Sept. 1.
“It's so important that we get a very clear perspective about what we're doing, about the dignity of people, about their own relationship and dignity, (and) relation with God,” he said.
The cardinal stressed that it’s especially important to remember that “in rendering service in any country to anybody, we seek to improve upon the image of God that already exists in the person.”
Cardinal Turkson spoke to CNA on the same day that Pope Francis released his message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which takes place each year on Sept. 1 and was instituted in 2015 shortly after the release of the Pope’s environmental encyclical “Laudato Si.”
In addition to serving as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Turkson is the president-elect for the newly established dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. He was a key player in drafting the environmental encyclical.
In his role as head of the new Vatican department, which will go into effect Jan. 1, 2017, the cardinal will oversee the Holy See’s involvement in issues surrounding migration, slavery, poverty and exclusion, as well as armed conflicts and natural disasters.
In a Sept. 1 news conference on Pope Francis' message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Cardinal Turkson emphasized that care of creation is about care of people: “When we hurt the earth, we also hurt the poor, whom God loves without limit.”
“So we are being asked to complement both the spiritual and corporal works of mercy with care for our common home,” he said, referencing Pope Francis' message suggesting that an eighth spiritual and corporal work of mercy – care for creation – be added to the traditional sets of seven each.
When asked if he knew about this “eighth work of mercy,” Turkson replied that he had not had any discussion with Pope Francis about it.
When it comes to examples of how to put the human being and human dignity at the center of all we do, Cardinal Turkson pointed to Mother Teresa, who will be canonized Sunday, as a key figure.
“So now with Mother Teresa, the celebrating of her sainthood in the next few days becomes a big invitation to all of us to know the significance of under-girding our life of service and ministry, of all kinds, with a deep personal life of spirituality and prayer,” he said.
“So thank God for Mother Teresa, and for the example she's giving to all of us.”
Article Archive
Cardinal Turkson: The human person is central to care for creation
Related Articles • More Articles
null / ShutterstockCNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 10:52 am (CNA).Following a recent Vatican declaration on human dignity, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales condemned medical and social transgenderism while encouraging a "sensitive" response in a pastoral reflection released on Wednesday.The Vatican's doctrinal office came down strongly against gender ideology, stating that "all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected."The Catholic bishops of England and Wales followed the Vatican's lead in their April 24 statement, "Intricately Woven by the Lord," which encouraged rooting pastoral care in "acceptance … of the body as created." "We cannot encourage or give support to reconstructive or drug-based medical intervention that harms the body," they wrote. "Nor can we legitimize or uphold a way of living that is not respectful of the truth and vocation of each man and each woman, called to ...
null / ShutterstockCNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 11:30 am (CNA).Louisiana State Police have obtained a new search warrant to collect documents from the Archdiocese of New Orleans as part of an ongoing investigation into Church abuse in that state.State police spokesman Jacob Pucheu confirmed to CNA on Thursday that the bureau had obtained the warrant as part of its investigation into "numerous complaints of child sexual abuse" leveled at the archdiocese. The inquiry was first launched in 2022, he said."As part of the ongoing investigation, on Monday, April 22, 2024, SVU investigators obtained an additional search warrant to collect information and documents from the Archdiocese of New Orleans," Pucheu told CNA."The archdiocese is cooperating with investigators to fulfill the terms of the search warrant," he said. "This investigation remains ongoing with no further information available at this time."Pucheu declined to directly provide a copy of the warrant, saying that "since it is...
Pope Francis speaks to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Sept. 25, 2015. / L'Osservatore Romano.Rome Newsroom, Apr 25, 2024 / 07:22 am (CNA).Pope Francis is reportedly considering returning to the United States in September to speak before the United Nations General Assembly.The news was initially reported by the French Catholic newspaper La Croix and has not yet been officially confirmed by the Vatican. A source from the Vatican Secretariat of State, meanwhile, told CNA this week that "a formal invitation has arrived from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Pope Francis seems inclined to respond positively."If the New York trip occurs, the pope would visit the United Nations during its "Summit of the Future," which the international body will convene from Sept. 22 to 23.The possible trip to the United States could change the pope's already-busy September travel schedule. The Holy See Press Office has announced that Pope Francis will be in Indonesia...