Jubilee for the Earth

The call to wonder at the beauty of creation, and in doing so give praise to God, is at the heart of most of the world’s religions and spiritualities.

In his encyclical letter on the environment, called Laudato Si’, Pope Francis acknowledges that “the majority of people living on our planet profess to be believers. This [then] should spur religions to dialogue among themselves for the sake of protecting nature, defending the poor, and building networks of respect and fraternity (LS 201).”

We believe that the combined spiritual resources of the world’s faiths is a crucial component in guiding humanity away from its earth-killing lifestyle and towards a more holistic and sustainable kind of living. All believers have an inherent spiritual and religious responsibility to help care for our common home and to do so together.

In 2019, the United Nations published their “Global Resource Outlook,” which concluded that “90% of biodiversity loss is caused by resource extraction and processing.” This includes human activities like habitat destruction for agriculture and mining and the over-consumption of natural resources like non-renewable energy and fishing stock.

“We need to grow in the conviction” Pope Francis says, “that a decrease in the pace of production and consumption can at times give rise to another form of progress and development” (LS 191).

In the second episode of “Jubilee for the Earth,” two members of the Columban team for justice, peace, and ecology discuss the urgent need to reimagine how our economy operates and to redefine what human flourishing looks like.

Our patron St. Columban famously said, “if you want to know the Creator, look at creation.” As Catholics, Columbans believe that creation - animals, plants, ecosystems, and all natural things - is a sacred gift from God and that God is revealed to us through each member of creation.

But has this fundamental teaching of our faith always informed our spirituality? And how should it now, especially in this time of ecological crisis?

Columban priest Fr. Dan Troy talks with geologist and botanist Dr. John Feehan about the urgency of reconnecting our appreciation of nature with our everyday faith.

“Jubilee for the Earth” is a podcast mini-series about biodiversity and our sacred story launching August 31.

It is produced by the Missionary Society of St. Columban. We are a Society of priests and lay people who live and share the good news of the Gospel by working with those who are poor and exploited, including the earth.

Over the course of six episodes, we’ll explore the beauty of biodiversity and the threats it faces. We’ll travel around the world to hear from Columbans who are working to renew the face of the Earth. Grounded in Catholic Social Teaching, we hope that this podcast will help us all to see how caring for our common home is fundamental to our lives as people of faith and as global citizens.

Learn more at www.columbancenter.org/biodiversity