Mgr Pioppo: Responsibility, assistance and cooperation for the protection of the oceans
Technology, security concerns or profit seeking should not limit our vision. "It would not be enough even to concentrate exclusively on biodiversity and ecosystems, if the role of the human person were left aside.”
Bali (AsiaNews) – The Indonesian government hosted this week (29-30 October) the fifth international ‘Our Ocean’ Conference (picture 2) on the island of Bali titled ‘Our Ocean, Our Legacy’ to promote the protection of the oceans.
Archbishop Piero Pioppo (picture 1), apostolic nuncio to Indonesia, headed the Holy See delegation to the event. In his address, he said that “In the management of marine and ocean resources, it is necessary to employ responsible behaviors, as well as to facilitate the necessary assistance and cooperation for the development of the most vulnerable communities”.
Indeed, “oceans require our attention and a willing collaboration for the implementation, on the one hand, of a serious interdisciplinary approach and, on the other, of the principle of subsidiarity, involving the local, national and regional contexts, as well as the international level. The common objective is to ensure a real protection of what the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea describes as the ‘common heritage of mankind’.
Underlining how the issue of the seas is imported to the Holy See, the archbishop mentioned the initiatives undertaken by the Catholic Church. In particular, he noted the various types of assistance offered to sailors, such as support for the development of fishing communities and the protection of their rights, the incessant work with and in favour of migrants, activities carried out with communities threatened by rising seas, programmes for the protection of the seabed.
The nuncio on those present to focus on issues such as migration flows resources, exploration and exploitation, as well as issues related to trade and transportation.
“In order for these interests and activities to be truly at the service of the common good, of the whole human family and of the integral and harmonious development of each person and of each community, it is important that they be guided by just ethical principles. In particular, a healthy anthropology must illuminate our relationship with this marvelous and impressive gift - the oceans.”
“One must not be limited to a vision of the oceans that is framed solely by technology, by concerns of security, or by the search for profits. [. . .] It would not be enough even to concentrate exclusively on biodiversity and ecosystems, if the role of the human person were left aside,” Mgr Pioppo warns.
Instead, “we must address the threats to our oceans in a courageous and adequate way. Often, the causes of these threats are found on land: dangerous and forced migration, the scourge of various forms of criminal trafficking and the pollution of the seas.”
Citing Pope Francis’s ‘Our Ocean 2017’, the archbishop noted that “the oceans remind us of the need to educate for the covenant between humanity and the environment (cf. Laudato Si', 209-215).
Finally, “In this regard, efforts should be made to train young people to care for the oceans but also, wherever possible, helping them to grow in knowledge, appreciation and contemplation of their vastness and grandeur. For the contemplation of creation can teach us valuable lessons and be an unending source of inspiration (cf. Laudato Si', 85)".
.png)
