The new pope being chosen by cardinals in the Vatican may have a huge impact on the environment depending upon which side he favours in the centuries-old Biblical debate about whether humans should exploit or safeguard nature, experts say.
OSLO/JOHANNESGURG — The new pope being chosen by cardinals in the Vatican may have a huge impact on the environment depending upon which side he favours in the centuries-old Biblical debate about whether humans should exploit or safeguard nature, experts say.
The outcome of that tussle among Christians might influence everything from the pace of exploitation of oil and gas to the level of protection for the world's forests, they say.
"The potential for world religions ... as well as indigenous religions, to contribute to the mitigation of environmental abuse is tremendous," said Baird Callicott, a professor of philosophy and religion studies at North Texas University.
"The late Pope did little in that regard. One world religion leader, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, has done much more," he said. The Buddhist Dalai Lama stresses that humans should live in harmony with nature.
Pope John Paul II often criticised human abuse of the planet, saying for instance in 2002 that the world was living in an "environmental emergency". But he rarely made the environment a top issue for the world's more than one billion Catholics.
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Cardinals were meeting in the Vatican City for a second day on Tuesday to try to select his successor.
The Bible has passages that suggest humans have free rein to dominate the earth and exploit its resources. But others stress a responsibility to safeguard the planet.
"There is a contradictory basis for interpreting the scripture and the choice of the new pope has profound implications," said Eric Woodrum, a professor of sociology at North Carolina State University.
The argument for human dominion lies in passages like God's words to Noah and his sons in Genesis (9:3): "Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything."
Noah Helps Biodiversity
But other sacred texts lay down respect for creation. At each stage of creation in Genesis, for instance, God declares it "good". He also ensures biodiversity by telling Noah to take two of each creature aboard the Ark to survive the Flood.
"Despite some pronouncements on protecting the environment, this does not seem to have been a high priority for the previous Pope," said Bron Taylor, editor of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature and a scholar at the University of Florida.
He said Pope John Paul's opposition to birth control had damaged the environment by spurring population growth.
At a 2002 U.N. Earth Summit in Johannesburg -- setting the tone for environmental protection and debate for a decade -- Taylor said there was no major presence of Roman Catholics.
Taylor also said that some other Christians had done more to champion the environment than Roman Catholics.
The head of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in 1997 became the first head of a major Christian Church to label environmentally damaging behaviour a "sin", Taylor said.
Bartholomew is sometimes dubbed the "Green Patriarch".
Some U.S. environmentalist Christians say President George W. Bush is on the side of the human "dominion" argument, accusing him of favouring big businesses and opposing some environmental controls.
But Woodrum said it was simplistic to say Judeo-Christian traditions were more responsible for environmental degradation compared to other religions including Islam, Buddhism, Taoism or Hinduism.
In some ways, campaigns for environmental justice were inspired by Christians, he said.
Source: Reuters
