Vatican urges Christians and Buddhists to collaborate on protecting environment

(April 29, 2008) With healthy relations existing between Catholics and Buddhists, the two communities can greatly contribute to the preservation of the environment, promotion of sustainable development and particular attention to climate change, said cardinal Jean Louis Tauran, the president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for inter-religious Dialogue. In a message to Buddhists preparing for their annual feast of Vesakh, the cardinal stressed on the gravity of these issues. Vesakh commemorates the principal events in the life of Gautama Buddha, Buddhism's founder. Citing the importance that Pope Benedict XVI as well as the United Nations are giving to the protection of the environment, Cardinal Tauran said, “as inhabitants of the earth and believers, Christians and Buddhists respect the same creation and have a common concern to promote care for the environment which we all share.” Indeed, he said, it is only through a profound reflection on the relationship between the divine Creator, creation and creatures that attempts to address environmental concerns will not be marred by individual greed or hampered by the interests of particular groups. Cardinal Tauran called on Christians and Buddhists to greater collaboration in in practical projects such as recycling, energy conservation, the prevention of indiscriminate destruction of plant and animal life, and the protection of waterways. In this way, he said, Christians and Buddhists together can be harbingers of hope for a clean, safe and harmonious world.