Pope Francis says this Conference "...invites you discover the Transcendent also through contemplation of the beauty of nature" on Biodiversity Protection
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ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON THE PROTECTION OF BIODIVERSITY
Clementina room
Saturday, May 21, 2022
Dear friends!
I welcome you, participants in the International Conference “Nature in Mind. A new culture of nature for the protection of biodiversity ", organized by the competent Command of the Carabinieri. I thank the Commander General for his kind words and I express my gratitude for this initiative, which demonstrates the willingness to collaborate to protect our common home together. Your commitment contributes to strengthening urgent dialogue, responsible dialogue on the future of the planet, "because the environmental challenge we are experiencing, and its human roots, concern us and affect us all" (Enc. Laudato si ', 137).
The title of the conference "Nature in mind" suggests the itinerary of Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, which on several occasions invites you to discover the Transcendent also through contemplation of the beauty of nature. It is a formative journey for the mind and soul. When we look in amazement at the sky and the stars or the crystalline waters of a stream, by analogy we contemplate the author of beauty (cf. Wis 13: 3). It was given as a gift to the human race, who is called to cultivate and protect it (cf. Gen 2:15). In the Holy Scriptures the beautiful and the good are inseparable.
Just as God made his created him available to men, so they find their full realization by overcoming selfishness and enjoying a "shared beauty". This dynamic bond between the Creator, human creature and other creatures is an alliance that cannot be broken without irreparable damage. We must not delude ourselves "that we can replace an unrepeatable and non-recoverable beauty with another created by us" (Laudato si ', 34). The myth of Prometheus, perhaps suitable for other eras, is no longer so for ours. We do not need a titanic heroism, but a gentle and patient brotherhood between us and with creation. Life and history show, in fact, that we cannot be ourselves without the other and without the others. In a world in which "everything is intimately related" (ibid., 137), it is necessary to identify new pedagogical paradigms to be promoted in educational processes, aiming them at the dialogue between knowledge and contributing to the growth of the culture of care. And the culture of care is a culture of harmony, it is preserving harmony, and not a culture of details that breaks harmony.
This culture, in fact, is closely linked to an inclusive education that rests on the pillars of integral ecology. Faced with the richness and complexity of the natural world, each educational project offers a perspective of understanding aimed at emphasizing the interrelationships between man and the environment. In order to promote truly sustainable development, it is necessary to open up with creativity to new, more integrated, shared itineraries, directly connected with people and their contexts. In this way everyone feels involved in contributing to the educational pact, which tends to form mature people, capable of overcoming fragmentation and contrasts. Any measure will be ineffective if not assisted and supported by an educational process that favors the care and protection of our common home.
Through our talents we are all called to build the "global village of care", to form a network of human relationships that reject all forms of discrimination, violence and prevarication. In this "village" of ours, education becomes the bearer of fraternity and a generator of peace among peoples as well as dialogue between religions.
Dear Carabinieri, dear friends, I renew my appreciation for your daily commitment and I urge you to continue it with courage. I bless all of you and your family. I wish you a good job; and I ask you to please pray for me. Thanks.
TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON THE PROTECTION OF BIODIVERSITY
Clementina room
Saturday, May 21, 2022
Dear friends!
I welcome you, participants in the International Conference “Nature in Mind. A new culture of nature for the protection of biodiversity ", organized by the competent Command of the Carabinieri. I thank the Commander General for his kind words and I express my gratitude for this initiative, which demonstrates the willingness to collaborate to protect our common home together. Your commitment contributes to strengthening urgent dialogue, responsible dialogue on the future of the planet, "because the environmental challenge we are experiencing, and its human roots, concern us and affect us all" (Enc. Laudato si ', 137).
The title of the conference "Nature in mind" suggests the itinerary of Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, which on several occasions invites you to discover the Transcendent also through contemplation of the beauty of nature. It is a formative journey for the mind and soul. When we look in amazement at the sky and the stars or the crystalline waters of a stream, by analogy we contemplate the author of beauty (cf. Wis 13: 3). It was given as a gift to the human race, who is called to cultivate and protect it (cf. Gen 2:15). In the Holy Scriptures the beautiful and the good are inseparable.
Just as God made his created him available to men, so they find their full realization by overcoming selfishness and enjoying a "shared beauty". This dynamic bond between the Creator, human creature and other creatures is an alliance that cannot be broken without irreparable damage. We must not delude ourselves "that we can replace an unrepeatable and non-recoverable beauty with another created by us" (Laudato si ', 34). The myth of Prometheus, perhaps suitable for other eras, is no longer so for ours. We do not need a titanic heroism, but a gentle and patient brotherhood between us and with creation. Life and history show, in fact, that we cannot be ourselves without the other and without the others. In a world in which "everything is intimately related" (ibid., 137), it is necessary to identify new pedagogical paradigms to be promoted in educational processes, aiming them at the dialogue between knowledge and contributing to the growth of the culture of care. And the culture of care is a culture of harmony, it is preserving harmony, and not a culture of details that breaks harmony.
This culture, in fact, is closely linked to an inclusive education that rests on the pillars of integral ecology. Faced with the richness and complexity of the natural world, each educational project offers a perspective of understanding aimed at emphasizing the interrelationships between man and the environment. In order to promote truly sustainable development, it is necessary to open up with creativity to new, more integrated, shared itineraries, directly connected with people and their contexts. In this way everyone feels involved in contributing to the educational pact, which tends to form mature people, capable of overcoming fragmentation and contrasts. Any measure will be ineffective if not assisted and supported by an educational process that favors the care and protection of our common home.
Through our talents we are all called to build the "global village of care", to form a network of human relationships that reject all forms of discrimination, violence and prevarication. In this "village" of ours, education becomes the bearer of fraternity and a generator of peace among peoples as well as dialogue between religions.
Dear Carabinieri, dear friends, I renew my appreciation for your daily commitment and I urge you to continue it with courage. I bless all of you and your family. I wish you a good job; and I ask you to please pray for me. Thanks.
Source: Vatican.va - Image Screenshot Vatican News
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