Coalition recalls Blessed John Paul II environmental messages

Following the joyous occasion of Pope John Paul II's Beatification on Sunday, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change recalls his prophetic statements on climate change in both his 1990 and 1999 World Day of Peace Messages:

1990: 'The gradual depletion of the ozone layer and the related 'greenhouse effect' has now reached crisis proportions as a consequence of industrial growth, massive urban concentrations and vastly increased energy needs. Industrial waste, the burning of fossil fuels, unrestricted deforestation, the use of certain types of herbicides, coolants and propellants: all of these are known to harm the atmosphere and environment. The resulting meteorological and atmospheric changes range from damage to health to the possible future submersion of low-lying lands.'

1999:' The danger of serious damage to land and sea, and to the climate, flora and fauna, calls for a profound change in modern civilization's typical consumer life-style, particularly in the richer countries.'

For more on the creation care legacy of Blessed Pope John Paul II, see 'Pope John Paul II and the Environment' a compilation from the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center. http://conservation.catholic.org/pope_john_paul_ii.htm