The festivity will be finer ” “” “

Why a Christian initiative when there are already so many players actively involved in the ecological field? First of all, because the protection of the environment is an integral part of the Christian faith: Genesis teaches us that the earth is a gift of God that man must manage with wisdom. Besides, the wounds inflicted on the environment cause an increase in the inequalities between people and are one of the principal causes of conflicts. The figures speak for themselves: 20 % of the world population consumes 80% of the natural resources. Moreover, the struggle for the environment is inseparable from the struggle for solidarity and for peace, commitments traditionally dear to the hearts of Christians. It puts into practice two important principles of the social thought of the Church: the preferential option for the poor and especially the universal destination of goods: “God destined the earth and all it contains for all men and all peoples” (Vatican II, Gaudium et spes, no. 69). This solidarity is extended to all future generations, as is recalled in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Man’s dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbour, including generations to come” (no. 2415). With the interdependence of social and environmental concerns, the ecological question has thus become an object of all our movements, a concern that crosses through all our actions. In this period in which we are preparing to welcome the Son of God who became poor, we wish to propose “that Christmas be lived in a different way” by inviting Christians to simplicity and sobriety. A sobriety that is not a synonym of austerity, but that is the expression of a commitment to the life of humanity present and future, as indicated in the flyer distributed as part of this campaign: “the festivity will be even finer if we celebrate it in the family with friends, neighbours and strangers, not by stuffing ourselves with superfluous gifts that clog wardrobes and refuse dumps, not by travelling useless kilometres by car, but by offering a little of our time, a smile, an attentive ear … by inventing gestures that help save the air, the water, the earth, the sea, the forest… and preserving them for us and for future generations”.