60 Franciscans to attend UN environmental conference
(June 06, 2012) The director of the Office of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of
Creation of the Order of Friars Minor told Vatican Radio that 60 Franciscans will
be attending the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro
later this month. Recalling St. Francis's Canticle of the Sun, Father Joe Rozansky
said that “we haven’t been caring for creation in the way that we need to do, to keep
things sustainable.” The priest emphasized that Franciscans are concerned not only
about the environment but also about environmental justice, which integrates concern
for creation with concern for social justice for the poor. Fr. Rozansky added that
there is increased concern about whether the United Nations and governments, are serving
the interests of mining and pharmaceutical companies. “What’s being sold as green
economy is really in a sense an excuse to keep things going the way they have been
going,” he said. Franciscans International, an NGO at the United Nations, will be
hosting a parallel conference in Rio devoted to agro-ecological farming.