Cardinal William Goh urged Catholics to treat environmental protection and the defense of vulnerable people as part of the same moral responsibility as the Church in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei began the second year of its regional creation-care campaign.
During a Mass opening the 2026 Season of Creation at Novena Church in Singapore on Aug. 30, Cardinal Goh asked, “What’s the use of protecting creation – this earth – when we cannot protect human life?”
About 1,500 people attended the Mass, including some 80 delegates and invited guests from the Episcopal Commission for Creation Justice of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
Care for creation cannot stop at protecting forests, wildlife and the climate but must also include the protection of human life, particularly the vulnerable, said Cardinal Goh.
Human beings are part of creation and have been entrusted with its stewardship, he said, adding, “We should be building up creation, not destroying it.”
Citing Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’, Cardinal Goh said care for nature is tied to human dignity, the common good and responsibility toward future generations.
Environmental and social problems therefore cannot be treated separately, he said, pointing to war, the killing of vulnerable people and abortion among concerns that should also form part of care for creation.
Cardinal Goh also said responsibility for environmental damage does not rest solely with political and economic powers. Consumers also bear responsibility through their pursuit of convenience, comfort and pleasure, he said.
The Mass also marked the opening of the second year of REGENERATE!, a 2025-2030 campaign of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
The campaign is the current phase of PROTEC 2.0, or Protect Our Earth, Protect Our Children.
Its second year, themed “Regenerate Hope for Land Ecosystems,” focuses on protecting and restoring natural ecosystems and human settlement areas.
The first year, under the theme “Regenerate Hope for Flora and Fauna,” promoted awareness and appreciation of biodiversity.
In Singapore, Caritas Singapore will continue providing resources and organizing events to help parishes conduct formation on care for creation. It will also continue work on forest regeneration, permaculture and pollinator gardens across the archdiocese.
Shawn Lum, a member of Caritas Singapore’s Care for Creation Committee, said Singapore’s cleanliness can obscure the environmental impact of consumption and repeated building and demolition.
“Our ecological footprint is not necessarily felt in our own country, but in faraway places,” said Lum.
He proposed nature walks and pollinator gardens to help Catholics reconnect with creation and reconsider their consumer lifestyles.
Lum also said Singaporeans should become co-stewards of the country’s “City in Nature” initiative by taking individual and collective responsibility for the environment alongside the authorities instead of relying solely on government-led greening.
During the Mass, delegates brought two Memecylon caeruleum saplings during the offertory. The rare native species, found on rocky coastal outcrops in Singapore, will be planted at Caritas Agape Village and the Forest Regeneration Project beside the Catholic Hub.
