Seoul (AsiaNews) - The world's economic and financial woes and mankind's own crisis "are causing serious damage to nature. As it grows, nature has to endure great pain because of our uncontrolled development and plunder natural resources," said Mgr Mathias Ri Iong-hoon, in his introduction to Catholic Environmental Teachings, a book recently published in South Korea.
The tome is edited by the Environment Office of the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, which Mgr Ri heads. It includes texts that range from Lumen Gentium to Gaudium et Spes, as well as papal documents on the environment and papers issued by national bishops' conferences. Together, it constitutes a handbook for Catholic environmentalists.
In the introduction, Mgr Ri writes, "As the Catholic Church, we have the benefit of being everywhere in the world. Hence, we must take our time to give our answer to pressing environmental problems. Since we cannot give a single answer, we must try to understand the various situations around the world. The universal writings in this book can thus be very useful."
In South Korea, the environment is a major issue. Ordinary South Koreans have a very protective relationship towards it and are easily mobilised against problems caused by urban speculation, deforestation and the militarisation of the sea.
Sadly, uncontrolled economic development has made environmental protection harder to enforce.