Spiritual heart of the forest

Throughout 2011, the United Nations is marking an International Year of Forests, celebrating the essential role of forests for our human existence.
Over 1.6 billion people depend directly on the forest for their livelihood and over 80% of biodiversity on land is found in the forests. That’s why the logo for this UN year features the central role of us human beings in the sustainable management and conservation of this great environmental resource.
But there’s another, deeper dimension for Christians to consider – a dimension that goes right to the heart of our faith:

"Nature, the natural world is not simply God simply telling us something, but it is God revealing himself and already in St Thomas Aquinas you find the first glimmerings of this..."

Dr John Feehan is a well known author and professor at University College, Dublin’s school of biology and environmental science. He tells Philippa Hitchen that churches around the world at local, parish level must get more involved with what is potentially the greatest emergency facing our planet today..

"The forest is the great reservoir of biodiversity on earth......and in spite of all the declarations we have made and the resolutions we have taken, we still see this steady trickle of biodiversity away between our fingers..."

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