Justice & Peace Letter for the Feast of the Epiphany 2010
From Bishop Peter Moran, President of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland
Glory to God and Peace on Earth :
Once again in 2009 this is the Christmas message.
If you want peace, work for justice :
Once again for 2010 this is the New Year message.
It is unjust that others suffer poverty, while we are comfortably off.
It is unjust that others suffer oppression, while we live in freedom.
Injustice of this kind breeds anger, revolt and war.
Injustice of this kind cannot give glory to God or bring peace on earth.
But there is another injustice, a hidden injustice:
It is unjust that developing countries suffer most from global warming
and exploitation of the environment, while we hardly notice it.
It is unjust that those least able to cope suffer most, from global warming
and exploitation of the environment, if we don t see it as our responsibility.
Pope Benedict, in this year s message for the World Day of Peace, reminds us
that our world is God s creation and that justice demands that we care for it:
justice towards our fellow human-beings, as well as obedience to God.
Call it ecological awareness, call it reducing CO2 emissions, call it the green economy:
this is a chance to work for justice
this is a challenge to work for peace
this is a call to give glory to God.
So what can we do? We can start reduce our carbon footprint in our own parishes through a programme called the Eco Congregation. All the information necessary can be obtained from the Justice and Peace Commission. By making manageable changes in our parishes and in our domestic lifestyles we can move towards better stewardship of the earth s resources in order to give glory to God and to help bring peace on earth.