Towards sustainable development” “

The fourth consultation of the European Episcopal Conferences on responsibility for the creation organized by the CCEE (Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe) will be held in Italy, in Venice, from 23 to 26 May 2002. The theme chosen for this year’s meeting is “Labour and responsibility for the creation. Sustainable development demands a new view of labour”. The theme was discussed in Venice in recent days, during a meeting of the CCEE’s working group on the environment. Previous consultations discussed related themes: In 1999 the delegates of the European Episcopal Conferences responsible for the apostolate of the safeguard of the creation met in Celje (Slovenia) to discuss the theological and ethical foundations of the Churches’ ecological commitment. In 2000 they met at Bad Honnef (Germany) to discuss the spirituality of the creation and environmental policies, while the consultation held in Slovakia in 2001 addressed the theme of “Christian life-styles and sustainable development”. The objective of all these meetings has been to create a forum of debate between the various bishops’ conferences on the safeguard of the creation. The participants are delegates of the 34 European Episcopal Conferences, bishops and experts, together with some guest speakers from international European organizations specifically dedicated to these issues (including the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, the Commission of the Episcopates of the European Union, the European Ecumenical Network for the Environment, European organizations representing the religious congregations and the laity). The “sustainability” of development. The reflection on “sustainability” will continue this year from the viewpoint of the economic and labour dimensions. The conclusions of last year’s meeting in fact pointed out that “sustainability demands a link between the global campaign against poverty, ecological compatibility and economic efficiency in social development”: the solution to the ecological crisis can only be found in a wider perspective, by tackling together the problem of the fight against poverty (many highly indebted countries are forced to destroy their own heritage of natural resources), economic efficiency in social development (problems such as unemployment prevent questions concerning the future from being addressed in many countries of Europe) and ecological compatibility (which involves research and innovation for a equitable utilization of resources, the creation of economic incentives and basic conditions for an ecologically sustainable development, the search for solutions that may correct the imbalances in the processes of globalization, and the containment of wastage). The agenda proposed for the Venetian consultation will open with a reflection on the Christian meaning of labour (Fr. Philipp Schmitz – Pontifical Gregorian University). Then the question whether the economy inspired by the principle of sustainability is a possible solution also for the problems of unemployment will be addressed (Ignazio Musu, Italy); the consultation will end with a reflection on the Christian meaning of time (Msgr. Peter Henrici, Switzerland). The commitment of the Churches. An integral part of the meeting will be a discussion of the contribution of the Churches of Europe to the “Rio+10” Conference (Johannesburg, September 2002): the various commitments that the Churches have assumed through their representative organs will be presented. There will then be a public debate on “Labour and Health”, taking as its point of reference the case of Porto Marghera outside Venice and that of Chernobyl. Time will also be made available, as in previous consultations, for the participants to “recount” what’s happening at the level of their respective Episcopal Conferences for the safeguard of the creation. Over the last few years, in fact, awareness of these issues has increased a lot in the Catholic Church: in many episcopates, offices or departments devoted to them have been set up (as in Belgium and Slovakia), pastoral letters on ecological concerns have been published (in France, Belgium, Italy), and the Churches are interrogating themselves about how they can be more active in the social and political processes for the safeguard of the creation. Ever more numerous are the experiences launched in this field, often by lay Christian groups: ethical banks, fair trade, social solidarity, Agenda 21, economy of communion… these are just some of the possible examples. The Italian meeting is being organized by CCEE in close liaison with the Office for social and labour problems of the Italian Episcopal Conference and the Lanza Foundation in Padua, which for many years has been promoting an ethical and philosophical reflection on environmental issues.