Getting A Read On The Media Did any reporter completely read the 180 page Encyclical Letter by Pope Francis before commenting on the message?
According to many headlines, captions, reports, summaries, soundbites and editorials, they obviously did not. I saw manipulated versions that just report lies by the “process of omission” for the sole purpose of creating additional erroneous controversies specifically done to increase ratings and make money. One of the very problems the Pope addresses in his Encyclical Letter:
According to many headlines, captions, reports, summaries, soundbites and editorials, they obviously did not. I saw manipulated versions that just report lies by the “process of omission” for the sole purpose of creating additional erroneous controversies specifically done to increase ratings and make money. One of the very problems the Pope addresses in his Encyclical Letter:
It follows that the fragmentation of knowledge and the isolation of bits of information can actually become a form of ignorance, unless they are integrated into a broader vision of reality.
From the start of the letter, sections were extracted to claim that the Pope blames man’s society and market for creating Climate Change. Citing only our Industrial Age along with cars, poor transportation systems, nonrenewable fuels to produce energy, manufacturing plants, polluting, and consumption of our Earth’s resources, is a misrepresentation of the real reasons to why we have global issues destroying our environment that also harm the poorest of our brothers and sisters.
However, when you continue to read, you learn that this presented impression is only isolated bits of information. Pope Francis provided that while our creativity has produced products, actions, and inventions that are causing Climate Change, that is not where we should place blame. In fact, Pope Francis states that humankind has invented amazing products, produced life saving actions, and has wonderful accomplishments. The blame falls not upon “WHAT” we have, but the “HOW” we use them.
The real reasons for the problems we now face are from our attitudes and our lifestyles. A complete and in depth view reveals that the true reasons come from: business’ missions to increase the profit margin at any cost; greed; indifferences; misguided goals; misinformed conclusions; lack of morals and virtue; self righteous assessments that place a higher value on one self over other humans, animals, and nature; spurning the fact about everyone and everything is connected; ignoring long term consequences “So Not” to spend more money on a better way or solution; knowing there will be no consequences in their lifetime for how they do things and not caring about what our own grandchildren will face. Thus in one word: anthropocentrism.
However, when you continue to read, you learn that this presented impression is only isolated bits of information. Pope Francis provided that while our creativity has produced products, actions, and inventions that are causing Climate Change, that is not where we should place blame. In fact, Pope Francis states that humankind has invented amazing products, produced life saving actions, and has wonderful accomplishments. The blame falls not upon “WHAT” we have, but the “HOW” we use them.
The real reasons for the problems we now face are from our attitudes and our lifestyles. A complete and in depth view reveals that the true reasons come from: business’ missions to increase the profit margin at any cost; greed; indifferences; misguided goals; misinformed conclusions; lack of morals and virtue; self righteous assessments that place a higher value on one self over other humans, animals, and nature; spurning the fact about everyone and everything is connected; ignoring long term consequences “So Not” to spend more money on a better way or solution; knowing there will be no consequences in their lifetime for how they do things and not caring about what our own grandchildren will face. Thus in one word: anthropocentrism.
Where we ourselves have the final word, where everything is simply our property and we use it for ourselves alone. The misuse of creation begins when we no longer recognize any higher instance than ourselves, when we see nothing else but ourselves.
Hence we should not be surprised to find, in conjunction with the omnipresent technocratic paradigm and the cult of unlimited human power, the rise of a relativism which sees everything as irrelevant unless it serves one’s own immediate interests. There is a logic in all this whereby different attitudes can feed on one another, leading to environmental
degradation and social decay.
We Must Stop Walking Toward A Cliff Humankind has failed to realize that we have inadvertently packed the wrong items in our backpack for survival. We must stop walking this trail that leads to the edge of a cliff, and each one of us must turn toward a new direction, a new mindset. However, first we must put our backpacks down to eliminate the following invisible forces:
The Culture of Relativism, Use and Throw Away logic, The Culture of Consumerism, The Cult of Appearances, Mockery of Ethics, Immorality of Greed, Belittling Faith, Jesting about Honesty, and the worst of all, holding Anthropocentrism in our hearts.
The Culture of Relativism, Use and Throw Away logic, The Culture of Consumerism, The Cult of Appearances, Mockery of Ethics, Immorality of Greed, Belittling Faith, Jesting about Honesty, and the worst of all, holding Anthropocentrism in our hearts.
The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast.
So Pope Francis told us that the guilt is within a company’s mission and one’s own attitude. He presented these truths by quoting many different people, speaking with words that Native Americans speak, citing examples, and pointing out the good that is within each of us. His letter speaks the hard truth while proclaiming the hope humankind is capable of. I was particularly happy to see Pope Francis point out a few claims that I have made over the years, such as the need for a Team Effort and that we are all connected. For if we harm our environment, we harm ourselves and if we destroy our environment, we destroy ourselves.
| You can download and read the English Version of Pope Francis' Encyclical Letter with the PDF Link on the left. | ||
Bill Lauto
, GTG
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
at GoingTrueGreen.com
Contribute your comments!
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
at GoingTrueGreen.com
Contribute your comments!
