By Father Timothy Gollob
Special to The Texas Catholic
Congratulations to our school grads in these first days of June 2017. Do you remember how you felt as a recent grad from the academic world?
The future was a challenge that you readily accepted. The real world was waiting for your wonderful contribution to justice and peace.
Well, we might not be scholastic graduates, but we need to make some important graduation decisions in our current world crises. It is the second anniversary of the encyclical letter of Pope Francis, Laudato, Si.
He has reminded us that the beautiful creation God established in the beginning is in need of serious help. Maybe we responded to the pope’s plea by recycling cans and newspapers. Maybe we have been consuming less; but the time has come to graduate from these very nice activities and take on the big issues of our day.
There are many heavy issues which ask us to use our faith to remedy environmental issues. It is time to speak up for the poor who have no voice; for the animals who have no voice; for the water, air and land which have no voice.
Although not here in Dallas, some other dioceses have established “Care For Creation” teams. These teams go out to parishes to teach how our heavy carbon footprint impacts the life of the most impoverished countries.
As the feast of St. Francis of Assisi draws closer, might we consider the ideas presented in the St. Francis Climate Covenant Pledge and dial up the heat on businesses that deliberately take from the Earth and destroy the quality of life for all.
Parishes could also make their own climate covenant to make their members wiser and bolder. There are videos available showing how places like Bolivia and Dulac, Louisiana are suffering from global warming which interrupts the growing season, decreases the rain, melts the glaciers, raises the sea level and makes the humble workers in the fields and in the fishing boats suffer to feed their families.
Take the idea of the St. Francis Climate Covenant Pledge to your neighborhood. It is a holy, wholesome, post-graduate job.
Father Timothy Gollob is the pastor of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Oak Cliff.
