Care for our Common Home Conference

25 September 2023, Budapest

organized jointly by the Research Institute for the Integrity of Creation of PPKE, the Faculty of Theology of PPKE, and the Religion and Society Research Institute of the József Eötvös Research Centre of NKE

The report of the Catholic news portal is published here in our institute's translation:

Do we really need what we desire? – The Together for a Common Home conference continued

25 September 2023, Monday, 20:38

On the afternoon of 25 September, the Care for our Common Home conference organized by the Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPKE) and the Ludovika University of Public Service (NKE) continued with talks delivered by professionals of the field.

The speakers pointed out the responsibility of all of us, the need for radical change, which is the path of "bearing the cross", of renunciation, sharing, simplicity, fraternal union.

John Chryssavgis, Archdeacon of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, called for a change of perspective in his talk entitled Caring for the Soul of the Planet - Orthodox Christian Perspectives on Ecotheology, saying that as long as we are unable to recognize the state the world is in, we will treat our environment in an "ungodly" manner. In the opinion of the theologian who serves as advisor to Patriarch Bartholomew on environmental issues, the rich of the world don't even notice the poor Lazarus, therefore they are unable to react to the problems of the world. He stressed the need to reassess our role and our place in creation: we were created from the dust of the earth on the same day as the creatures that crawl, we are one of God's creatures. Our love for nature cannot be limited to superficial, sentimental feelings. We need a vision like that of the icon, which points to the eternal instead of the "here and now", and thus restores the "holy covenant" made between God and man. The Christ of the icons always faces us, always both of his eyes are visible, expressing "acceptance and communion in love". Seeing this face of Christ gives everything a "personal dimension" and invites us to see from a different angle. The icon conveys a "fuller" vision and a different way of life and perspective. This perspective helps us recognize that "we are all sinners, not respectable pilgrims but comfortable tourists".

It is in the liturgy that we are invited to communion, to love, to respond to nature with the same sensitivity as we respond to man. The liturgy mediates between Heaven and Earth, celebrating the intimate relationship between God, man and things, teaching man that his life cannot be limited to himself, to the pursuit of his own interest. According to the speaker, the way to approach the world is asceticism. Christ reconciled all by taking up the cross, and for man today the cross is the price of reconciliation.

"A radical change is needed, the way out of the ecological deadlock is the way of the cross. The world is hiding in denial because the way of the cross would require self-sacrifice."

We must all ask ourselves, "Do we really need what we have, what we desire? Do we realize that we all consume more than we should?" To give up and share – that is the way out, because distribution through the market generates poverty.

The speaker pointed out how profoundly Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew see the root of the world's problems: we must recognize the face of Christ in the other person and make the existential decision to live as human beings, and our lives must reflect that we view creation as a gift from God.

Markus Vogt, Professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, continued the orthodox theologian's line of thought in his lecture entitled The Cry of the Created World – Discovering God in the context of the challenge of climate change and social transformation. What is the role of the churches in climate change? – he asked the question and then gave both theoretical and practical answers. The speaker welcomed the interconnection of different disciplines, and thus, the pursuit of an integrated ecology, as it helps to think about the state of our environment in a complex way. He expressed his concern about the future by saying that if we continue in this way, "our world will become "unfit for human habitation", and expressly highlighted the problems of water availability, biodiversity, and the pollution and degradation of soil. The situation calls for action, above all, to recognize that we must think of man as a part of creation. We need to engage in a "continuous and constructive dialogue" and to make people aware

that God is speaking to us through the ecological crisis, that we are "crucifying Christ again" by the destruction of nature, and that we question Christian hope if we secularise it.

In other words, hope must be more than sheer optimism, it must be based on the reality that the purpose of our hope is not the fulfilment of our desires, but rather that God be by our side when we suffer. This is the Christian hope.

According to Markus Vogt, the foundation of an ecological lifestyle can be provided by spirituality, which is defined by simplicity, fraternal connection, joy and gratitude. We must commit ourselves to sustainability, to integrating the ecological approach into the Church's practice. As an example of this, he cited the 2018 Action Plan of the German Bishops' Conference, which sets out specific recommendations for church institutions and communities, but also for individuals. It recommends, for example, carbon dioxide fasting and no travel by air. He emphasized the importance of ecumenical cooperation, because cooperation for the sake of creation can make all efforts more effective.

In his talk entitled Interactions between climate change and the use of military force, József Padányi, Major General and University Professor introduced the aspects that connect the issue of climate change to military leadership. "The army has a job, it must have a job in the area of climate change, even if it seems counterintuitive," he said, setting out the basic position. The speaker went on to say that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's vision has been a breakthrough in this context, treating the impact on the environment as a priority issue. He stressed that the number of destructive events caused by climate change has multiplied, and the consequences are dramatic in scale. Dealing with them requires military presence, which also places a significant burden on the environment. He sees a path of "necessary adaptation" as the way forward: reasonable trade-offs are needed to maintain efficiency and reduce environmental impacts.

He welcomed the involvement of the Hungarian military leadership in the "hydrogen highway" project, which aims to establish a network of refueling points in NATO countries. He added that it is considered important to use dual-purpose equipment and to enhance the efficiency of existing equipment while reducing pollution.

"If we can raise a critical mass who take ownership of their responsibility to reduce their carbon footprint, we will have achieved a lot." – the professor said.