COMPASSION for the environment is the mark of a true Christian.
This was the message of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle as he closed the Archdiocese of Manila’s six-week long environmental awareness campaign, “Season of Creation.”
“Ang pagka-malapit sa kalikasan at ang kabanalan ay magkasama. Ang pangangalaga sa mundo ay pangangalaga [rin] sa ating kapwa tao. [Ito] ang huwaran ng pagiging isang mabuting Kristiyano,” Tagle said in his homily at the San Isidro Parish in Pasay last Oct. 7.
“Kapag hiniwalay mo ang nilikha sa Lumikha, magiging intrumento ito sa pagkasira ng mundo,” he said, adding that Christians should never forget to express gratitude for God’s creation.
The prelate urged the faithful to refrain from patronizing material wealth as it leads them away from God.
“Kapag ang tao ay nakalimot sa Diyos, ang biyaya ay nagiging yabang at nauuwi sa pananamantala. Nahuhumaling tayo [rito] at sasambahin natin ito bilang mga bagong diyos,” he said.
Activities conducted in archdiocesan schools and parishes during the campaign included ecological exhibits and quiz bees, a children’s forum on Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical Laudato Si and a story-telling on caring for God’s creation.
