Our Saint John’s Laudate Si Circle is planning to commemorate Earth Day on Saturday, April 22, by having a banner in front of the church and offering flowers and tree seedlings for planting to people passing by. They are giving witness to our important obligation to care for our mother earth. Pope Francis’ groundbreaking encyclical, Laudate Si, established the Catholic Church as teaching that all people and their governments have a moral obligation to protect the earth and to refrain from polluting the environment. Pope Francis’ teaching is firmly rooted in Christian humanism, that is, that our obligation to care for the earth is because of our duty to care for people. Spoiling the environment is harmful to human beings, especially the poor who are most often the victims of environmental sins.

Every year when the world commemorates Earth Day, I remember my high school science teacher, Father Rocha Rabble, OFM Cap. Father Rocha was a true environmentalist, a scientist who knew every species of bird, plant and animal that was native to Western Pennsylvania. He was a respected consultant for the government and for other scientists. He instilled in me a love and respect for mother earth. He taught in the 1970s what Pope Francis proclaims today. I am proud that we have parishioners at Saint John’s who have passion for the Catholic Church’s teaching on the environment.