Cardinal Sarah, quoting Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’, has preached on the need for Catholics to be stewards of the environment, saying that the financial interests of multinational companies are among the greatest threats to God’s creation. “A policy of unlimited productivity inevitably leads to human, cultural, or ecological catastrophes,” he said. But he has warned against making “ecology,” or other human concerns, the focus of the Church’s commitment. Some urge the Church “not to speak about God, but to throw itself body and soul into social problems: migration, ecology, dialogue, the culture of encounter, the struggle against poverty, for justice and peace. These are of course important and vital questions before which the Church cannot shut her eyes. But a Church such as this is of interest to no one. The Church is only of interest because she allows us to encounter Jesus. She is only legitimate because she passes on Revelation to us.”
