Pope:Man Must Respect God Given Gift of Creation

(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).