MANILA - (UPDATE) Manila Archbishop Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle called for a renewed pledge for respect and love for the environment as the Catholic Church celebrates the Season of Creation.
"When we were young, the Earth was beautiful. We play in fields and plains, bathe in the rivers and were nourished by the seas and the mountains. Now that we are old, so is the Earth. It withered, paled and is now dying because of our doing – wrongdoing. We have forgotten how to take care of our trees, animals, waters and land. We have become greedy, and disrespected our common home. And so today we appeal to everyone: let us renew our pledge to respect one another and the web of life," Tagle said before the Walk for Creation 2019 opening mass at the Liwasang Aurora of the Quezon City Circle in Quezon City Sunday.
In 2015, Pope Francis declared September 1 as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. He also urged dioceses around the world to celebrate the Season of Creation.
Thousands of people from different schools, parishes, religious communities, civil society organizations, non-government organizations and private sectors joined the third Walk for Creation and expressed their commitment to do concrete and sustainable actions that will address the challenges of the current ecological crisis.
Bishop Virgilio David of Caloocan and Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao were also present during the celebration.
According to Fr. Edwin Gariguez of Caritas Philippines, now is the time for people to act together to stop the effects of climate change.
"Sabi ni Pope Francis, ang ating care for our common home is very much part of our faith. This is not only [a] political or economic issue, this is very much part of living out our Christian faith," he said.
Bishop David also remembered how the late Gina Lopez of ABS-CBN Foundation worked against mining and protected the watersheds.
"Napakatindi ng Catholic Bishops conference against mining dahil alam natin na ang mga isla natin dito sa Pilipinas are very fragile. Kahit mag-usap ka tungkol sa resonsible mining, ang mas alam natin karanasan ay irresponsible talaga," he said.
"Sana ang inilaban ni Gina Lopez noon ay tayo din mapanindigan natin lahat and itong 'season of creation' is the best opportunity to deepen our awareness tungkol dito sa sense of responsibility na pinananawagan ni Pope Francis," Bishop David added.