(10 Sep 09 - RV) Pope Benedict met in private audience Thursday with a delegation
from the Archdiocese of Zaragoza Spain.
The Holy Father
received them in Castel Gandolfo to thank them for their collaboration in creating
the Holy See’s Pavilion at the International Expo in Zaragoza last year, on the theme
Water and sustainable development.
Pope Benedict took advantage
o fthe meeting to return to one of the key-themes of his pontificate to date; the
protection of the enviornment. He remarked that the Pavilion “which was one of the
most visited and appreciated, sought to offer visitors a timely reflection on the
importance and the paramount value of water for human life”.
By participating
in the exhibition, he said “the Vatican also wanted to highlight not only the urgent
need to always protect the environment and nature, but also discover the deeper spiritual
and religious dimension of the earth. Today as never before people need to learn how
to appreciate creation as something more than just a source of wealth or something
to be exploited by man”.
Pope Benedict said that with creation, God has given
man the keys to the earth, and He expects him to know how to use this great gift responsibly
and respectfully. Then quoting from his latest encyclical, Charity in Truth the Pope
once again stressed the close relationship between environmental care and respect
for the ethical requirements of human nature, when “human ecology” is respected
within society, environmental ecology also benefits. "(ibid. 51).