'Fundamental change' needed to save environment, ease inequality: Cardinal Turkson
May 14, 2015
Cardinal Peter Turkson called for a “fundamental change” in attitudes and public policies, to protect the environment and help the poor, in a May 14 address to the assembly of Caritas International.
Cardinal Turkson, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said that economic progress in recent years has hade “its dark sides and unacceptable costs.” He decried the persistence of hunger in an age of affluence, and the fact that a “privileged global elite” controls most of the world’s wealth.
A healthy attitude toward economic development, the cardinal said, should begin with a recognition that all of creation is God’s gift, and “the correct response to receiving such a magnificent gift is surely one of gratitude, love, and respect.” He explained that this approach would lead to solidarity and stewardship, combining responsible growth with care for the environment and concern for the poor.
Cardinal Turkson emphasized that the changes he sees as necessary cannot be achieved through public policy. “Without moral conversion and change of hearts,” he said, “even good regulations, policies, and targets in the world are unlikely to prove effective.”
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