Rome, Italy, Sep 10, 2009 / 17:58 pm
The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, remarked earlier this week that the Church "not only promotes the defense of the earth, water and air, which the Creator has given to all, but she is also especially committed to protecting man from destroying himself."
The cardinal made his comments during a Mass at an environmental protection congress. In his homily he quoted a passage from the encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate," in which Pope Benedict XVI points out how respect for human ecology in society leads to benefits for the environmental ecology as well.
"The Church considers the issues related to the environment and its protection as intimately linked to the issue of comprehensive human development," Cardinal Bertone stated.
For this reason he encouraged participants to contribute to "the construction of a world in which peace" is shared among all the inhabitants.