A road and a barrier

“God’s Creation and sustainability in the Mediterranean” is the topic of the conference and intensive-training course promoted in Malta by the Commission for the Environment of the archdiocese of Malta, by the archbishops’ seminary of the same diocese, and by the bishops’ seminary of the diocese of Gozo, scheduled for next July 12-17. The initiative is aimed at encouraging greater regional cooperation for the establishment of seminaries and in view of supporting and disseminating true environmental management. It will be held on the occasion of the Pauline Year (June 28, 2008 – June 29, 2009) and is organised in cooperation with Aps Bank, the Centre for Environmental Research and Training, along with the Education and Theology faculties of the University of Malta. A “melting pot”. “Throughout history – explains a note of the diocese of Malta – the Mediterranean has acted as a road and as a barrier, separating the different cultures that bordered its shores. However it also enabled cultures to merge, influence one another and conquer each other”. This “melting pot” of “religious, political, economic, cultural and demographic pressures, with their natural restrictions, led to the development of a landscape currently seeking solutions and opportunities to implement a sustainable future”. “Religion always played a major role for the Mediterranean’s social and cultural development”, especially “Saint Paul, the Apostle of Peoples, with his pioneer trips from coast to coast”. “Despite the religious and cultural diversity which characterizes this region – the diocese affirms – we look forward to a sustainable future which depends on its Peoples’ ability to be guided by fundamental moral values in their daily choices regarding the environment”. For a sustainable Europe. According to the “Training for sustainable future guidelines”, issued in May 2005 by the working group on education of Europe’s Christian Environment Network (Ecen), “education must be at the centre of all efforts aimed at sustainable development in Europe”. However, continues the report, “in central, Eastern and Western Europe, this formation takes place within prevailing individualistic and consumeristic cultures. When people face the evidence of environmental crises, this culture has very little to offer, since it is more linked to its causes than to its solution. This is discouraging for individuals who fail to understand how they can contribute to a future that is worth living”. Ecological conversion. “The ecological commitment – is explained in the Note of the diocese of Malta – doesn’t merely consist in supplying information, but in supplying stimulating training and inspiring experiences which may lead to what the consultation of European Bishops Conferences called ‘ecological conversion’: deep changes of the heart and mind to respond to the gift of life by God”. The Ecen report points to the fact that many Christian traditions consider “an appropriate understanding of environmental issues and the ability of local congregations and individuals to be daily devoted to this goal” an important element in the formation of the religious. Although many Christian and Catholic Seminaries, along with various theological faculties, already include the teaching of environmental ethics and education in their curricula , “there is space for further development and improvement in the formation of priests”, continues the Note – “focused in particular on the Mediterranean, its environmental identity, its problems and opportunities”. For this reason, “greater regional cooperation in the field of religious studies and permanent formation in the field of ecology and social justice” are encouraged.The topicality of Saint Paul. “In this year devoted to the commemoration of two-thousand years since the birth of Saint Paul – is affirmed by the diocese – we feel compelled to go beyond customary celebrations and explore the true significance, meaning and topicality of his teaching”. This is the purpose of the initiative of July’s training course in Malta. “This is the site of the missionary shipwreck of the Apostle of the Peoples during his last trip towards Rome, and also a representative micro-cosmos of present issues and environmental questions of the Mediterranean”. Some of the topics addressed will be: sustainable economy, human pressures due to development, environmental ethics and morals, the Mediterranean as area of religious conflicts and site of holy places, the role of the Church in environmental education. For further information: www.maltadiocese.org.