Cardinal Isao Kikuchi has urged the Church to view environmental care as inseparable from the pursuit of peace, saying that both missions stem from humanity’s responsibility as stewards of God’s creation.
“In this sense, the Church’s approach to environmental issues and the call for ecological conversion set out in ‘Laudato Si’ do not just address environmental issues, but also lead to the establishment of God’s order in this world, that is, the establishment of peace,” the Archbishop of Tokyo said in his weekly video message on August 3.
The message comes as the Church in Japan prepares for the Ten Days of Peace from August 6 to 15, a period that includes the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of World War II.
“Seeking peace is also an act of caring for our common home, the Earth, and seeking to restore our relationships with God, our neighbors, and the created world,” Kikuchi said.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’. Kikuchi noted that the Bishops’ Laudato Si’ Section will host a symposium on ecological spirituality in September during the “Month for the Defense of All Life.”
He also cited the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), which in March released a document titled “A Call for Ecological Conversion in Care of Creation,” urging the faithful “at the time of this Holy Year to repent, to convert and to assume with more firm resolve our collective responsibility as stewards of God’s creative work.”
Quoting Laudato Si’ (66), Kikuchi reminded the faithful that sin has disrupted “our relationship with God, our neighbor and our earth,” and that “by boldly taking the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our limitations as created beings, we have disrupted the harmony between the Creator, humankind, and the entire creation.”
He warned that this arrogance also lies at the root of all “violent attacks against life,” drawing a parallel with the Gospel parable of the rich man who hoarded wealth for himself.
“Indeed, the actions of humans who ‘brazenly take the place of God and refuse to acknowledge their limitations as created beings’ have no connection to true wealth before God,” he said.
Kikuchi concluded his message by echoing Pope Leo XIV’s call at a Mass in Castel Gandolfo on July 9: “Our mission to care for creation and to bring about peace and reconciliation is the mission of Jesus himself. It is a mission that he has entrusted to us. We hear the cry of the earth. We hear the cry of the poor… Our works are the work of God. Let us humbly and faithfully fulfill the mission given to us.”
