The moment is coming when it will be too late

HE Patriarca Bartholomeu

Observing the leaders of our world as they gather in Copenhagen, we pray and hope that they realise just how late we have left it to restore our earthly home to health.

There will come a point, and it may be very soon, when it is simply too late.

Our scientists talk of ‘tipping points’ and ‘abrupt climate change’. Our political leaders talk of the challenges ahead. The Bible speaks of God’s grace in giving us many, many chances. But it makes it clear the time will come for all of us when we have to face the consequences of our wrongdoing.
The well-fed rich man in his fine robes, who ignored the beggar Lazarus at his gate in the Gospel of St Luke, was terribly punished after his death for his indifference and inaction. When he begged to be released from torment, he was told that it was too late.

According to the Gospel of St Matthew, the questions that will be asked of us all at the Last Judgment will not be about our religious observance. We will be asked if we fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked and comforted the sick and the captives.

We must make the sacredness of life our priority.
It is life on Earth, which is threatened, not just a certain way of living.
This is the very same Earth which we are commanded not just to ‘till’, but also to ‘preserve’.
Our reckless consumption of resources –fuel, water, forests… threatens us with a climate Apocalypse. Burning more fuel than we need in a busy city, we may be contributing to a drought or flood in a place thousands of miles away. Scientists estimate that those most hurt by global warming in the years to come, are those who can least afford it.
In our understanding there can be no distinction between concern for human welfare and concern for ecological preservation.
To restore the planet we need Spirituality which brings humility and respect, leads us to inquire more deeply and leads us to think of the impact of our actions on all of Creation.

We have been privileged in recent years to lead our Religion, Science and the Environment Symposia to meet many individuals whose lives are threatened by distant forces that they can neither understand nor control. We have stood on the banks of the Amazon and witnessed the destruction of the rainforest in the name of providing cheap food for the well-fed. We have stood and watched a great glacier of Greenland decay as its world was warmed by greenhouse gasses. A month ago in New Orleans we heard evidence of how hubris turned a natural event into a human catastrophe.

We must direct our focus away from what we want to what the planet needs. We must choose to care for Creation; otherwise we do not really care at all.
Nature unites us and although we may differ in our conception of the origins of our world, we all agree on the necessity to protect its future, our future. Let us offer the earth an opportunity to heal and continue to nurture us.

We can no longer afford to wait, indecision and inaction are not options

We are all living within the Mercy and Grace of God
Our faith makes clear that we have a choice. The time to choose is now.

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

Biographical Note: His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians, is 270^th successor of St. Andrew the apostle, who founded the 2000-year-old church of Constantinople. He has worked for reconciliation among Christian Churches and for religious understanding among the faith communities. His efforts to promote human rights and religious tolerance, together with his pioneering work for international peace and environmental protection, have placed him at the forefront of global visionaries and earned him the title “Green Patriarch.” He was named by Time magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential people and has been honoured with the US Congressional Gold Medal. He is the author of Encountering the Mystery (Doubleday) and In the World, Yet Not of the World (Fordham)