Bishops take their message to the top

Sydney
7 July 2002

Bishops take their message to the top

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Bishops take their message to the top

Heady heights for three bishops who climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge to spread the Pope’s message on the environment. From left: Archbishop John Bathersby of Brisbane, Bishop William Morris of Toowoomba and Bishop Christopher Saunders of Broome. Dr Michael Costigan is in the background

By Kathleen Carmody

Three Australian Catholic bishops climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge last Friday to raise awareness of Catholic Earthcare Australia, the Church’s new environmental initiative.

Archbishop John Bathersby of Brisbane, chair of the Bishops’ Committee for Justice, Development Ecology and Peace, led Bishop William Morris of Toowoomba and Bishop Christopher Saunders of Broome in the climb over Sydney’s main arch.

The climb was aimed at publicising the official launch of Catholic Earthcare Australia and to draw attention to the issue of environmental destruction.

Bishop Bathersby said the Bridge was an appropriate focus for the initiative.

“We’re overlooking the most beautiful harbour in the world, and we’re very conscious of the beauty of the environment,” he said. “Therefore it’s entirely appropriate that we think about caring for the environment so we can pass it on undamaged to future generations.”

Catholic Earthcare Australia is a national advisory body, which will advise the Bishops’ Committee for Justice, Development, Ecology and Peace (formerly the Bishops’ Committee for Justice, Development and Peace) on environmental issues. The council comprises 20 environmental experts from around Australia.

Bishop Bathersby said the new body was the bishops’ response to Pope John Paul’s call for ecological conversion.

“For 10 years now the Pope has been speaking about ecological conversion, and it’s a normal part of our faith; it’s not something added on,” he said.

“The beauty of the environment helps us to think about God, and the vitality and teeming energy of the environment helps us to think about God, but at the same time there’s a call to make sure that we preserve (it).

“If we really believe in a God of love who’s created this world for all, then our Christian duty is to try and preserve it for future generations, as well as enjoy it ourselves.”

Bishop Bathersby said that Christians hadn’t been very good at caring for the environment in the past. But there had been a real awakening of consciousness in this area of faith, he said.

There was a justice aspect to preserving the environment also, the bishop said.

“If we don’t care for the environment we are not only damaging the lives of other Australians, but people of the Pacific, too,” he said.

“If we make uncaring use of the resources of the world we can hurt people who can’t defend themselves.”

The centrepiece of the bishops’ environmental drive is a video, The Garden Planet, which will be distributed to schools and parishes.

Shot all around Australia, the 20-minute video features a number of bishops “standing in nature” and suggests ways the average person can live more simply.