Catholic Social Teaching/ Themes
Catholic Social Teaching goes into depth with the Catholic theologians such as Popes. Also, US Bishops have created seven key themes in Catholic Social Teaching. The Seven Catholic Social Teaching are Life and Dignity of the Human Person, Call to Family, Community, and Participation, Rights and Responsibilities, Preferential Option for the Poor and Valuable, Solidarity, The Dignity of Work and the Rights Of Workers, and Care for God’s Creation. The two themes that align with my topic out of seven Catholic Social Teaching are the Care for God’s Creation and Rights and Responsibility.
Caring for God's creation
Catholic Social Teaching addresses environmental issues, recognizes the necessary value of all living things, and calls for responsible and sustainable use of resources. It is our responsibility to preserve the natural world. Just like the Bible mentions, “The Earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1 NRSV). This scripture shows how God has a purpose for everything. God is thoughtful of his actions and he always has a reason for everything he does. So these species are meant to be here, but since they are becoming extinct. It is an effect and disruption of what God created.
Right and Responsibility
If God put these species on earth, then they are here to serve a purpose. Animals have every right to be in their habitats they were given, to begin with. We should not have the right to make them become extinct. They have a right to life just like us. We have a responsibility to protect the nature of this world, plus these endangered species. We should work towards promoting justice and solidarity, which extends to the well-being of animals and their environment. It's about understanding the interconnectedness of all life and taking action to ensure a sustainable and thriving planet for future generations.
In the document of Laudato Si', “Many intensive forms of environmental exploitation and degradation not only exhaust the resources which provide local communities with their livelihood, but also undo the social structures which, for a long time, shaped cultural identity and their sense of the meaning of life and community. The disappearance of a culture can be just as serious, or even more serious, than the disappearance of a species of plant or animal. The imposition of a dominant lifestyle linked to a single form of production can be just as harmful as the altering of ecosystems.” Since we, humans have caused damage to the environment for our purposes. Which has been impacting different communities for many years and is affecting our identities and culture. If we are losing our culture which includes animals, it becomes the norm for our world. Things are intertwined on this planet and we are hurting ourselves in the process. It imbalances our ecosystem by killing off different species of animals.