“We cannot allow our seas and oceans to be littered by endless fields of floating plastic.” Image: Wikimedia Commons
Pope Francis is calling for people to stop the constant barrage of plastic trash we throw into the ocean. “We cannot allow our seas and oceans to be littered by endless fields of floating plastic,” the Pope told business leaders at the Vatican. “We need to pray as if everything depended on God’s providence, and work as if everything depended on us.”
This isn’t the first time he’s made a call to action regarding the way we treat our planet. For years now, he’s been a loud voice in the fight against climate change. His latest statement came on the fourth annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, a day celebrated by the Catholic Church.
According to the United Nations, every year we dump around 8 million tons of plastic into the sea. A recent study found that if we continue doing so at the rate we’re currently at, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2030.
“It must be acknowledged that we have not succeeded in responsibly protecting creation,” he wrote in a statement. “The environmental situation, both on the global level and in many specific places, cannot be considered satisfactory. Rightly, there is a growing sense of the need for a renewed and sound relationship between humanity and creation, and the conviction that only an authentic and integral vision of humanity will permit us to take better care of our planet for the benefit of present and future generations.”
While Pope Francis is generally concerned with the environment as a whole, he took special care to mention the ocean in particular. “I would like also to mention the issue of the seas and oceans,” he continued. It is our duty to thank the Creator for the impressive and marvellous gift of the great waters and all that they contain (cf. Gen 1:20-21; Ps 146:6), and to praise him for covering the earth with the oceans (cf. Ps 104:6).”
While you may not agree that it is our “duty to thank the Creator,” it’s difficult to disagree with the message he’s trying to convey. He means, of course, that we should thank the Creator by not treating his creation like a shit-filled garbage can at a dog park.
It truly is a global challenge—in order for human beings to make a dent in the seemingly insurmountable problem we’ve created, everyone’s got to pull their weight, from the lowest consumer to the highest of corporations. “Constant care for this inestimable treasure represents today an ineluctable duty and a genuine challenge,” Pope Francis explained in the statement. “There is need for an effective cooperation between men and women of good will in assisting the ongoing work of the Creator. Sadly, all too many efforts fail due to the lack of effective regulation and means of control, particularly with regard to the protection of marine areas beyond national confines (cf. Laudato Si’, 174).”
