Theme: Stewardship of Creation Observe

Part I.
Catholic Social Teaching Principle

Theme: Stewardship of Creation
Observe:
Stewardship is the act of showing respect to the Creator by using responsibly and protecting the
creation. Everyone is called to take care of the planet and the people, each must practice his or her faith
being in a relationship with Gods creation. There is an interdependence with all of the things God has
made and so when there are an exploitation and abuse of the natural resources this will result in
environmental degradation which will be affecting the humanity especially the people in the marginalized
sector and also the future generation. People have overlooked the possible effects of human works to
Mother Nature, people have failed to see how badly damaged the Earth is and people have forgotten the
duties each one has as a steward of God. It can be observed that people dont show care for the
environment even just through small things like throwing garbage in the trash bins, maintaining
cleanliness of the surrounding and etc. Moreover, the business sector like factories continue to cause
pollution, mining companies keep on cutting down trees and etc. Through human activities natural
resources are now depleting, there is now the scarcity of clean water, biodiversity is negatively affected,
and many animal species are now endangered and extinct. With ecological imbalance, the poor are the
ones largely affected; they are the ones who lose livelihood because most of the farmlands and forest
areas are converted into commercial enterprises; they are the ones who dont have clean water to drink.
Some people, especially in the developed countries, might not experience this for they may have the
abundance of the basic resources thats why they couldnt see the suffering of other people. With a failure
to love, protect and respect the environment, its not only the Earth that is being destroyed but also all the
creatures inhabiting it, even the humanity are at risk.
Judge:
There are many scripture passages that talk about creation and man being a steward of God. In 1
Corinthians 10:26 Creation and all created things are inherently good because they are of the Lord, it
says here that the creations were beautifully made. In Genesis 2:15 it was stated that Humans are
commanded to care for Gods creation, this scripture clearly denotes that humans were given the task to
be the co-operator of Gods creation, but instead of playing that role the humans subjected the Earth into
his or her will and acted like God. In Leviticus 25:1-7 The land itself must be given a rest and not
abused, this bible verse is contrary to what is actually happening in the present. I can hear the cry of the
Earth; I can feel its pain every time we mistreat it. I would admit there are times where I would be
neglecting my role as a caretaker of nature, sometimes I would just throw my garbage anywhere and
sometimes I wouldnt mind having leftovers in my plate and sometimes I would be wasting water, failing
to realization that others were starving and dont have water safe for drinking. I am a Christian, yet
sometimes I would fail to live up to my faith. I know there would be no use of practicing the Catholic
faith if I couldnt show it in my deeds. There would be no use of praying if I couldnt follow Gods words
and I couldnt be in service of others. Joining environment-related activities would be useless if I couldnt
even take care of nature even in simple ways. Upon realizing how Id been and upon seeing how the
human persons have acted, I know its time to take a stand.
Act:
Being a part of a Jesuit Institution is real of great help because without it then maybe I wouldnt be
open to what is the situation now. I believe that the first action would start from myself, I know that Im
involving myself with advocacies relating to the environment but I think it would be best if I would really
be committed to applying it in my daily experiences. The next thing to do is to keep participating in
different advocacies and programs; its nice to be surrounded by people who have the same principle with
me. It would be helpful also to continue update myself. Another action to make is to share what I know to
others, it would really be an accomplishment to see people having the same advocacies with me. I would
really make use of my stay in Ateneo by being one of the advocates for preserving the environment and
other programs. I know I still have a long way to go but I hope with Gods guidance I can really fulfill my
role as a steward of His creations.
Part II.
Laudato Si
Chapter 1: What is happening to Our Common Home?
Question # 5: The pope says that access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right,
yet many poor people do not have to access it (27-31). Why is this? What can be done?
Why I chose this question?
Ive chosen this particular question because it struck me. I like watching documentaries and some
of it was filmed in Africa and Ive seen how devastating their situation is. Ive seen how these persons
were stripped of their human right because they couldnt even have an access to basic necessities like
food, water, health services and etc. There was this particular documentary where a child was given
bottled water and that child looked at the bottled water as if it was a miracle and that scenario touched me
because others would want extravagant things, others would want so much yet this particular child only
wanted water, which is a basic necessity and everyone should have it. Its a sad thing to know that at a
young age the child already experienced being deprived of his right as a person. I know that in the
Philippine context, there are a lot of the same scenarios also, they may not be widely talked about but I
know their struggle is real.
The answer to Why is this?
Inaccessible safe drinking water is prevalent especially to the poor in the marginalized sector.
This is one indicator of the depleting natural resources which are due to the wasteful use of it. The poor
do not have access to it because there is an unequal distribution of water and others would also make it as
a commodity as what have been mentioned in Laudato Si Even as the quality of available water is
constantly diminishing, in some places there is a growing tendency, despite its scarcity, to privatize this
resource, turning it into a commodity subject to the laws of the market. Another thing also is that some
people would just be passive on whats happening and not having the will to take an action even if they
have already seen that there is a need for them to help. Other reason would be because people living in a
life having an abundance of these basic necessities failed to see or take into consideration the situation of
others, what they do not know is that each time they waste clean water, they have already stolen from the
poor.
The answer to What can be done?
Our world has a grave social debt towards the poor who lack access to drinking water because
they are denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity. This debt can be paid partly by
an increase in funding provide clean water and sanitary services among the poor. As what has been
stated there should be advocacies or programs in providing accessible safe drinking water to the poor and
so with health and sanitary services. It would also best to have awareness talks so that people would really
see the present situation or it could possibly be an eye-opener for people to change wasteful habits. The
actions should start from the self and then, later on, involving a group of people until hopefully, the
people across the globe are now part of it. Everyone should also be encouraged to give especially the
people who have more in life a part of their riches to the poor. Everyone must work hand in hand in
coming up with a solution. The people must be aware that each one is obligated to live up with his or her
faith and that is not to be served but to be in service of others.
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
SECTION M
FINAL REQUIREMENT
SUBMITTED BY:
Rea H. Pao
BEED-4
SUBMITTED TO:
Sir. Jaime Lachica

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Part I.

Catholic Social Teaching Principle

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