Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle: Be good protectors and caretakers. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines–“Be good protectors and caretakers of the environment.”
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle made the appeal on Monday at the launch of his archdiocese’s “Season of Creation” campaign at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, or the Redemptorist Church, in Baclaran, Parañaque City.
In a concelebrated Mass, Tagle also urged Filipino Catholics to be more proactive in protecting the country’s national resources.
“God’s creations should be given importance, not taken for granted,” he said.
“We should be thankful for the sunrise, sunset, flowers, grass and rivers, among others. Sadly, for some people they seem to be ordinary and go unnoticed,” he added.
That is why “we should be awed and celebrate all creations of God,” Tagle said.
He also called for a “change in lifestyles,” from that which had adversely affected the environment.
At the same time, he urged both the government and business to “push for the right kind of development and progress.”
“We have no intention of stopping development, but development projects should be those that are not against God’s wishes… we cannot call projects converting rivers to roads development projects,” he said.
“We should show respect for God’s creations,” he added.
The program launch featured exhibits on various ecological issues facing Metro Manila and neighboring areas, like the planned further reclamation on Manila Bay by various business groups and the administration’s plan to reclaim Laguna de Bay and construct dams in the Sierra Madre mountains.
Late last year, Tagle, his predecessor Gaudencio Rosales and 20 other bishops expressed “deep reservations” over plans to reclaim Manila Bay for nearly 40 real estate projects, saying that earlier reclamation projects “had resulted in disastrous flooding, especially in Metro Manila and Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan and Pampanga.”
In a letter to President Aquino, the bishops had said that “the scientific, legal and moral basis for our opposition echoes God’s message.”
They urged the President to “be with us in responding to the call of Pope Francis,” who has asked Catholics worldwide to be “protectors of God’s creations, protectors of one another and of the environment.”
“Maging Bayani: Mahalin, Ipagtanggol at Pagyamanin ang Sangnilikha” is the theme of the four-week Season of Creations campaign.
Nongovernment groups that took part in Monday’s activity included the Alliance for Stewardship and Authentic Progress, Save Laguna Lake Movement, Save Manila Bay Alliance, Save Freedom Island Movement, Save Sierra Madre Network Alliance, and Advocates for Environmental and Social Justice.–Jerry E. Esplanada