Pope Benedict XVI: True Environmentalists Are Pro-Life, Opposing Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 12, 2010
The Vatican (LifeNews.com) — In his traditional New Year address to the diplomats representing other nations that are accredited to the Holy See, Pope Vatican XVI said true environmentalists are pro-life. He sought to divorce care for the environment with a radical population control agenda that promotes abortions.
Benedict says efforts to protect the environment should not come at the expense of the dignity of human life.
"Each of us could probably cite an example of the damage that this has caused to the environment the world over," the pontiff said. "The denial of God distorts the freedom of the human person, yet it also devastates creation."
The Pope said he shares the "growing concern" caused by "economic and political resistance to combating the degradation of the environment."
Yet, the Pope said concern for protecting the environment "should be situated within the larger framework of the great challenges now facing mankind."
"If we wish to build true peace, how can we separate, or even set at odds, the protection of the environment and the protection of human life, including the life of the unborn? It is in man’s respect for himself that his sense of responsibility for creation is shown," the Catholic Church leader said.
The Holy Father cited Thomas Aquinas in saying that "man represents all that is most noble in the universe."
The Pope also rejected the notion put forward by population control activists that there are not enough resources, including food, to care for a growing population.
"Furthermore, as I noted during the recent FAO World Summit on Food Security, ‘the world has enough food for all its inhabitants’ provided that selfishness does not lead some to hoard the goods which are intended for all," he said.
Benedict said the root causes of a lack of care and concern for the environment are not different than the root causes of a lack of respect for human life — they are both a result of a “current self-centered and materialistic way of thinking.”
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