Pope to Copenhagen climate summit: respect God's creation

(December 7, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged world leaders attending the climate summit in Copenhagen that caring for God's creation requires adoption of sober and responsible lifestyles. "I hope that the work will help identify actions respectful of creation and favourable to development which is based on human dignity and the well-being of all," the pontiff said after the traditional Sunday midday ‘Angelus’ prayer and blessing from his studio window overlooking Saint Peter's Square in Rome. The Vatican has sent a delegation to the Dec. 7-18 summit on climate change in the Danish capital. "Protecting the natural world,” the Pope said, “calls for restrained and responsible lifestyles, especially in consideration of the poor and future generations." "To guarantee the success of the climate conference, I call on all people of good will to respect the laws of God on nature and to rediscover the moral dimension in human life," he said.
Before the ‘Angelus’, the Pope reflected on the Gospel reading of the Second Sunday of Advent saying St. Luke provides "all references to political and religious authorities of Palestine in 27/28 AD" during the time of St. John the Baptist, to prove that the Gospel is not a myth, but the account of a true story that Jesus of Nazareth is a historical person inserted in that precise context. The second reason for the extensive historical references is to focus on the word of God that descends from above and poses itself on John the Baptist." "The Word of God is the person who moves history, inspires the prophets, prepares the way for the Messiah, calls the Church,” the Pope said.
During Sunday’s ‘Angelus’, Pope Benedict also reminded the faithful in St. Peter’s Square about the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary on Tuesday, December 8. Contemplating on Mary the sinless virgin, he said "Mary is the Immaculate ... [but] the Church is in constant need of purification, because sin undermines all its members.” He therefore invited all to pray that the Mother of the Lord help all, during this time of Advent, to 'straighten out' our paths, allowing ourselves to be led by the word of God. "