Sinsinawa
Spectrum
A Congregation News Magazine
Creation at the Heart of Mission
by Sarah Anne Kaminski, OP
Sr. Sarah Anne Kaminski in Assisi, Italy, at the home of Franciscan missionaries on a road that leads to a chapel.
This spring I had the privilege of receiving an invitation from Patricia Mulcahey, OP, to attend an international seminar in Assisi, Italy. “Creation at the Heart of Mission” was offered jointly by the Commission for Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) for the Union of Superiors General (USG), the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), and the Service of Documentation and Study on Global Mission (SEDOS). The theme linked the story of the universe, Jesus’ mission, ecological conversion, and the final redemption of all things. I asked Julie Schwab, OP, to accompany me because of her extensive background in ecological issues. We flew to Rome May 10.
After staying with the Irish Dominicans at Villa Rosa, we were guided by Toni Harris, OP, to the train to Assisi. After we absorbed the spirit of St. Francis and St. Clare there, we were ready to settle into the schedule of presentations, open forums, practical experience presentations by missionaries from around the globe, and Eucharist. We reflected on the liturgy of the Word in small groups and then celebrated the Eucharist, each day hearing it in either Italian, French, Spanish, or English with verses of the songs in all four languages.
Father Sean McDonagh, Irish Columban missionary and author, presented the story of the universe and called us to consider scientific facts around global climate warming, the short window of opportunity to reduce carbon emissions, and the impact of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). He called the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that living organisms could be patented obscene and abhorrent. He documents the efforts of Monsanto to control the seed stock of the five major food sources and the dire consequences for human populations in some areas where these seeds created a mono-culture unable to withstand cyclical drought or pests. Father Denis Edwards, a diocesan priest from Australia, presented topics each of the three days―“Ecology and Jesus Christ: Ecological Conversion,” “Eucharist and Ecology,” and “Final Redemption of All Things.” He used the psalms, the Gospels, Paul’s Epistles, and the prayers of the Eucharistic liturgy to show that the early Church appreciated that all of creation was participating in the redemptive work of Christ. Noting the extinction of species which has accelerated due to the industrial and technological advances of humans, he asked, “Do you think the rest of creation knew we were coming?”
Although presentations were in English, we were grateful for our translators, as the question-and-answer periods were in multiple languages. Eventually our small working groups refined a joint letter from the 230 participants (from over 50 countries) to our congregation leaders. This letter encourages our members to renew their individual responses to the urgency of environmental issues, particularly the challenges of climate change, destruction of biodiversity, and pollution of water. Based on the prophetic ministry, which is central to religious and missionary life, the letter encourages lobbying governments before the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in early December to enshrine in law a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 percent by the year 2020. In order to achieve a follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, it will be crucial that major emitting countries such as the United States commit completely to such an agreement.
Another dimension of the United Nations process is aimed at alleviating the detrimental impact of global warming on the lives of those most at risk. This is called the Adaptation Fund. We are poised to lobby for a much greater financial commitment to this fund as a matter of justice. After the conference in Assisi, Sean encouraged participants to join him in protesting a meeting of the Vatican Academy of Science with corporations engaged in genetic modification of seeds essential for human food sources. Our Church’s own missionaries on the “front line” were not invited to this meeting. Sean made sure the media was aware and present to cover his protest.
For personal reflection as we approach Community Days, ask, “Where am I personally in this journey of ecological conversion or transformation?”