In 1998, the Passionist Community of Canada decided to provide a new legacy for St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin, a Roman Catholic parish in North York (the northern half of Toronto, Ontario) that it has served for over 53 years. This legacy constitutes the construction of a church that includes a 750-seat worship space, a generously proportioned narthex, offices, meeting rooms, and other support facilities for its ongoing ministries.  It has become the first church in Canada to receive Gold certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating System.  LEED® was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council and adapted for use in Canada by the Canada Green Building Council. Both organizations bring together industry leaders to promote high-performance sustainable buildings.

The new church replaces a 500-seat, deteriorating facility that had become prohibitively expensive to operate and maintain. “While reducing energy costs was one of the reasons for building a ‘green’ church,” says Fr. Paul Cusack, C.P., current Pastor at St. Gabriel’s, “Our primary motivation was to establish a link between the sacredness of the gathered community of Faith and the sacredness of the Earth.”  As such, the new church constitutes a dramatic departure in the design of sacred space.  Unlike most churches built to inspire a sense of other-worldliness, the new St. Gabriel’s is designed to emphasize that when we gather to worship; we do so within the greater context of creation. It has been conceived as an articulation of the eco-theology of Passionist, Father Thomas Berry, and his belief that we must work towards establishing a mutually-enhancing, human-earth relationship. 

It has long been apparent that we are facing an ecological crisis of alarming magnitude.  In our race to control and exploit the earth’s natural resources for the benefit of humankind, we have been blind to the fact that we are shutting down the very life supporting systems that we depend upon for our survival.

In response to this growing awareness, many theologians and scholars are realizing the need to revisit scripture and the many insights on humankind’s relationship to creation that exist within our church’s rich tradition.  On June 10, 2002, Pope John Paul II and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople signed a common declaration on environmental ethics in Rome and in Venice.  In it they called for a new relationship towards the earth: 

What is required is an act of repentance on our part and a renewed attitude to view ourselves, one another, and the world around us within the perspective of the divine design for creation.

This declaration suggests that creation is integral to God’s divine plan and that as humans, we need to be reconciled not just to each other, but to all of creation. 

The universe in all its wondrous modes of expression, both individually and collectively, is a celebration of its divine origin. Imagine what our liturgies would be like if the diversity of life on the planet was not there to provide us with inspiration?  Imagine for a moment how we would decorate our churches to reflect the liturgical seasons or how our scripture and prayers would have evolved if we lived all of our lives in a landscape that resembled the moon.  Any threat to the earth’s ability to function in all its glory and provide the essentials of life must also be understood as a threat to religion.  If the water is contaminated by pollution then it can’t be drunk or used in Baptism. Thomas Berry suggests that both in its physical reality and its religious symbolism, it becomes a source not of life, but death.

How do we weave ourselves back into the web of life? How do we become re-enchanted with the glory of creation?  As an architect who designs sacred space, how can I respond to the insights revealed by eco-theology? Once again, I would like to return to the work of Thomas Berry for the answers.  He believes that the real hope lies in our ability to re-establish an integrated sense of the whole, to redefine a cosmology based not upon an anthropocentric view of the human as primary but based instead upon a biocentric understanding of the earth as primary and the needs of the human as derivative.  In order to do this, he believes we need first to examine the inner intentionality of God’s universe as manifested by its three creative principles:  differentiation, subjectivity, and communion.

According to Thomas Berry, “differentiation” is the primordial expression of the universe.  Out of the fiery violence of the “Big Bang” came radiation and differentiated particles that through a certain sequence of events, found expression in an overwhelming variety of manifestations.  The universe is coded for an ever increasing, non-repeatable, biodiversity as exemplified by the incredible variety of life that has evolved on the earth. In reality, we cannot help but be creative because the universe is creative.  Our role as humans must now be to restore the earth’s ability to continue its growth towards complexity and differentiation.

The second primary creative principle of the universe as identified by Thomas Berry is that of increased “subjectivity.”  Together, every reality that makes up a part of the universe is not just a collection of objects but is a community of subjects.  As subjects, we all have an inner dimension, an interior reality which not only reflects the diversity that surrounds us but reflects the original bursting forth of energy at the beginning of time.  Our creativity as humans is informed by the diversity of subjectivity that is allowed to declare itself around us.  Thomas Berry in his The Dream of the Earth, quotes a passage from Thomas Aquinas’  Summa Theologica, to reflect this understanding:

Because the divine goodness ‘could not be adequately represented by one creature alone, He produced many diverse creatures, that what was wanting in one in the representation of the divine goodness might be supplied by another. For goodness, which in God is simple and uniform in creatures is manifold and divided; and hence the whole universe together participates the divine goodness more perfectly, and represents it better than any single creature whatever.’

Thomas Berry’s third creative principle of the universe “is the communion of each reality of the universe with every other reality in the universe.”  As mentioned before, we are an inextricably related community of subjects.  This genetic interrelatedness of everything in the universe to everything else means that the universe is in dialogue with itself as a community. “Everything is intimately present to everything else.”  The original bursting forth of energy at the beginning of time contained all the elements necessary for the evolution of the universe up to and including human culture.  The potential for religion, liturgy, music, poetry, dance, art and architecture existed as part of that original expression.  This is why we are connected to the stars in the night sky and to all living and non-living realities on the planet, why they are deserving of our awe and reverence, and why we must celebrate them in our creativity.

As humans, the time has come for us to forfeit our role as exploitive dominators and to assume the more responsible role of participatory co-creators with God by realigning our sense of creativity with the creative principles of the universe and the planet.  Only then can we contribute to the healing of the Earth in all its life systems and achieve a relationship with the Earth that is mutually-enhancing.

• Catholic Social Ministry Gathering
• Ecumenical Advocacy Days
• Churches for a Middle East Peace

We continue to collaborate with other organizations to promote in an ongoing way these social issues of Catholic concern. We encourage the members of the Passionist family to keep engaged on these issues and links through these organizations. The summer offers us many opportunities to engage with our congressional representatives locally due to the summer recess which will begin on August 9 and go through September 12. During this time your congressional representatives will be in their districts so you can call their local district scheduler to see when you can make an appointment to see them locally.  Below is a highlight of updates and links related to the campaigns and issues the JPIC office has addressed.    

Economic Justice:

The USCCB has promoted a great advocacy site through its Justice, Peace and Human Development Office. Many of the issues that they address are related to the issues of the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering that we attended in February of this year. Another Catholic organization that addresses the issues of Economic Justice is Network, A Catholic social justice lobby group. They have a new website designed for easier access to their action alerts. Some of the issues that they are raising this summer are:

• Support a Responsible Estates Tax
• Support Local Jobs for America  

Immigration:

The Justice for Immigrant Campaign is a coalition of Catholic organizations including the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops. They, along with Network and other immigrant justice organizations, are advocating for a comprehensive immigration reform bill that will address the immigrant issue following the social teachings of the Catholic Church.

• Justice for Immigrant postcard campaign 
• Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Ecology/Energy:

The Catholic Coalition on Climate Change is a newly organized coalition of Catholic organizations that is looking into policies and issues related to climate change. By clicking on this link you will be visiting the action page of the Catholic Coalition which will give individuals some personal practices that will help address our own individual carbon footprint. Unfortunately the Senate has chosen not to create a comprehensive climate bill this summer. Instead we would like push Congress to bring this issue as we advocate against S. 3072 which will undermine the Clean Air Act and block the EPA’s global warming pollution cuts. But we also support any legislation like H.R. 4690 that will push the US to adopt more sustainable living practices especially in developing alternative modes of public transportation. 

• H.R. 4690 Livable Communities Act
• No to S. 3072

Peace and Disarmament:

In the area of international peace there are a great number of concerns. However in this year the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops have placed their emphasis on two priorities. With regards to the conflicts in the Middle East the issue of Israel and Palestine continue to be of primary concern in this area. The other priority continues to be the concern regarding the reduction of nuclear weapons and a call for a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

• Urge President Obama and Congress to take a strong leadership in promoting the two state solution between Israel/Palestine
• Urge the Senate to pass the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty  

Global Poverty:

The Catholic Church is part of a global family. The growing community now includes our Asian and African brothers and sisters. The social call for developing solidarity is nothing less then a call to be part of the universal church. Our own national policies has economic repercussions throughout the world. Again the issues related to this concern are many but we have tried to focus on current issues related to global poverty. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the fastest growing Catholic communities in Africa and the human right violations that they face is directly related to the interest that our own extractive industry has in the mining operations of this nation.  

• Urge Congress to support Humanitarean Funding FY 2010 Supplemental Appropriations Bill
• Urge Congress to support s. 891/h.r. 4128 to help improve the lives of our Congolese sisters and brothers.

Her martyrdom has raised the issue of protecting the Amazon rainforest and as a result the government of Brazil has adopted strict environmental enforcement policies that are being monitored by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources. Her congregation has vowed to continue her vital ministry and they remained involved in promoting land reform and ongoing projects of sustainable development.

Sr. Stang highlights an emerging face of Catholic Martyrs, martyrs who die in the service of the Gospel’s challenge to protect the dignity of marginalized people and the integrity of creation. Sr. Stang’s story is awe inspiring but it is not an isolated story. Many other missionaries have also given their lives and paid the ultimate price for preaching the Gospel of life and justice. In preaching this Gospel they challenge a global economic market system that is driven by easy and unethical profit making. What is impressive with Sr. Stang is how her community mobilized itself to continue promoting a ministry that they saw as a vital expression of modern evangelization.      

The Passionist of Holy Cross Province also has a modern martyr of the Gospel message. Fr. Carl Schmitz, CP was a Passionist priest who grew up in Chicago and who became a dedicated missionary serving in the United States and then in the Passionist missions in China, Japan, and the Philippines. By 1976 Fr. Carl was driven to preach the Gospel to a poor indigenous community in the Philippines known as the Bila’ans. They are a tribal mountain people of 80,000 who lived on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. He was sent to work with the mountain people in a rugged jeep. Clambering hand over foot along muddy mountain paths, sleeping on dirt floors in thatched huts, he struggled to learn a new dialect and be a sign of God’s love to these people.

The Bila’ans were an abused people who had been displaced from the lowlands to the mountains where it was hard to find suitable land for their small gardens. Murder and burning of properties were rampant. Violence was constant. Fr. Carl found himself as chief negotiator for peace and an advocate for the Bila’an people.

Two serious issues faced the missionary. Paramilitary forces in the area often turned out to be bandits who used young Bila’ans as their agents in illegal logging and rustling water buffalo. When Fr. Carl discovered that going on, he would head up the mountains, find his people, persuade them to go to the coast with him and seek amnesty.

The New Peoples Army (Communist) was another problem. Young Bila’ans often saw the NPA as a way to gain back their stolen lands. Fr. Carl tried to persuade his young men to leave the rebels and seek amnesty.

His activities did not make him popular with the paramilitary. On April 7, 1988 Fr. Carl had brought six young Bila’ans who were involved with paramilitary activities to his out-mission at Bolul. He planned to take them from there to the authorities the next day. The paramilitary were probably uneasy, fearing some action could be taken against them.

Determined to stop Fr. Carl, they got a young Bila’an, Johnny Monday, half drunk. Handing him a Garand rifle they told him to kill Fr. Carl. Some teachers at Bolul, who were housed close to Fr. Carl’s rectory, tell us what happened then.

The half-drunk Johnny Monday lurched into Bolul and stopped at the bottom step of the thatched rectory.

He shouted: “Get out here Fr. Carl, I’ve got a bone to pick with you.”

“Take your time, Johnny, I’ll be there.” Carl came out and stood at the top of the steps about 10 feet from Johnny Monday, who continued to shout: “I am going to kill you, Fr. Carl.”

“Why would you do that, Johnny?”

“You are a bad man–you give money to the Communists.”

“You know better than that, Johnny, I take care of my poor. Just this afternoon, I paid for your wife’s medicines.”

“You’re smiling, Fr. Carl, you are never going to smile again.”

The first shot went through the Fr. Carl’s mouth and killed him instantly. Johnny Monday then emptied the magazine and tore his body apart.

A tragedy? Yes.

But for Fr. Carl, it was a missionary career crowned with martyrdom for justice. He loved the Bila’an people and would not allow them to be corrupted by the paramilitary, who were often bent on illegal logging and the rape of the virgin forests. Quite aware of the risks he was taking, he saw the face of Christ in his people and he knew the blood of Christ was shed for them. He was Passionist and missionary through and through, and malicious men brought him to a martyr’s death.

The Passionist community like the Sisters of Notre Dame will continue to uphold the brave Christian witness and sacrifice from these modern martyrs of economic globalization. With the Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation Office the Passionist are creating a network of solidarity for all lay and vowed members of the Passionist family who faithfully preach the Gospel of justice in places that continue to challenge our most basic Christian values.

#1 - Respect for creation is of immense consequence, not least because “creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God’s works”, and its preservation has now become essential for the pacific coexistence of mankind. Man’s inhumanity to man has given rise to numerous threats to peace and to authentic and integral human development – wars, international and regional conflicts, acts of terrorism, and violations of human rights. Yet no less troubling are the threats arising from the neglect – if not downright misuse – of the earth and the natural goods that God has given us.

#6 - The world “is not the product of any necessity whatsoever, nor of blind fate or chance… The world proceeds from the free will of God; he wanted to make his creatures share in his being, in his intelligence, and in his goodness”… Once man, instead of acting as God’s co-worker, sets himself up in place of God, he ends up provoking a rebellion on the part of nature, “which is more tyrannized than governed by him”. Man thus has a duty to exercise responsible stewardship over creation, to care for it and to cultivate it.

#7 - The goods of creation belong to humanity as a whole. Yet the current pace of environmental exploitation is seriously endangering the supply of certain natural resources not only for the present generation, but above all for generations yet to come. It is not hard to see that environmental degradation is often due to the lack of far-sighted official policies or to the pursuit of myopic economic interests, which then, tragically, become a serious threat to creation. To combat this phenomenon, economic activity needs to consider the fact that “every economic decision has a moral consequence” and thus show increased respect for the environment. When making use of natural resources, we should be concerned for their protection and consider the cost entailed – environmentally and socially – as an essential part of the overall expenses incurred.

#8 - A greater sense of intergenerational solidarity is urgently needed. Future generations cannot be saddled with the cost of our use of common environmental resources… The ecological crisis shows the urgency of a solidarity which embraces time and space.

#9 - I would advocate the adoption of a model of development based on the centrality of the human person, on the promotion and sharing of the common good, on responsibility, on a realization of our need for a changed life-style, and on prudence, the virtue which tells us what needs to be done today in view of what might happen tomorrow.

#10 - At present there are a number of scientific developments and innovative approaches which promise to provide satisfactory and balanced solutions to the problem of our relationship to the environment. Encouragement needs to be given, for example, to research into effective ways of exploiting the immense potential of solar energy. Similar attention also needs to be paid to the world-wide problem of water and to the global water cycle system, which is of prime importance for life on earth and whose stability could be seriously jeopardized by climate change. Suitable strategies for rural development centered on small farmers and their families should be explored, as well as the implementation of appropriate policies for the management of forests, for waste disposal and for strengthening the linkage between combating climate change and overcoming poverty.

#11 - It is becoming more and more evident that the issue of environmental degradation challenges us to examine our life-style and the prevailing models of consumption and production, which are often unsustainable from a social, environmental and even economic point of view. We can no longer do without a real change of outlook which will result in new life-styles, “in which the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others for the sake of common growth are the factors which determine consumer choices, savings and investments”.

#12 - The Church has a responsibility towards creation, and she considers it her duty to exercise that responsibility in public life, in order to protect earth, water and air as gifts of God the Creator meant for everyone, and above all to save mankind from the danger of self-destruction.

#14 - Christ, crucified and risen, has bestowed his Spirit of holiness upon mankind, to guide the course of history in anticipation of that day when, with the glorious return of the Savior, there will be “new heavens and a new earth” (2 Pet 3:13), in which justice and peace will dwell for ever. Protecting the natural environment in order to build a world of peace is thus a duty incumbent upon each and all. … For this reason, I invite all believers to raise a fervent prayer to God, the all-powerful Creator and the Father of mercies, so that all men and women may take to heart the urgent appeal: If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation.

Catholic Social Teaching reminds us that we are called to be responsible stewards of God’s creation. Passionist spirituality places us in the midst of a suffering creation. Fr. Thomas Berry who passed away in May of this year devoted his religious ministry to the spirituality of a suffering earth and we continue the legacy of his tradition by raising issues of environmental concern.

Here in the United States the issue of Mountaintop removal as a way to have access to coal has raised serious ecological concerns especially to the communities that reside close to these vandalized mountains. Communities in West Virginia and Pennsylvania are victims of water and chemical pollution as a result of mountaintop removal. Religious investors are working with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility to address certain Coal companies that are complicit in this form of ecological degredation and the Passionist community is looking at engaging with at least one company over this issue.

Moira Reilly is a friend of the Passionist community and Campus minister at the St. John University Parish in Morgantown West Virginia. Recently she went to Pittsburgh to attend a hearing on Mountaintop removal and she share this article to us through the Lay Ecclesial Ministry Blog.     

Eden and Mountaintop Removal Mining by Moira Reilly

Thoughts for your Consideration: by John Gonzalez
In this Sunday’s readings we are invited to be renewed and recommitted to our faith community. The first reading offers us an historical glimpse of the evolution of our faith. The people with Joshua are now aware of the new situation they find themselves in. They have reached a new stage in their development where they are no longer wandering migrants but are now stable and responsible for a land that has been given to them. It was God who chose them and brought them here, but at this point they need to declare their own commitment to God and the faith of their fathers. This becomes the basis of their covenant, a social contract where two parties freely commit responsibility and faithfulness to each other. Joshua tells them that this covenant, should they freely choose to make it, will be difficult and challenging to keep. The historical development of this community will be a testament to this difficulty and we will witness the ups and downs of this covenant relationship.

We understand Jesus to be the new covenant that God is now forming not just to a certain community but to the whole of humanity. Throughout his ministry Jesus invites many to participate and to be disciples of his teachings. Furthermore Jesus is offering the people a deeper relationship with God the Father and the amazing miracles and healings demonstrate the power of this relationship. But now, as in Joshua, Jesus explains the challenging nature of this commitment. Like any good contract negotiation it is important for both parties to be completely aware of the details of this commitment that they are engaging in. Throughout the last couple of weeks we have heard from the 6th chapter of John’s Gospel where Jesus is explaining this commitment to the “Bread of Life,” it is a glorious commitment to share in eternal life, but it also demands faith and belief in what is unknown and almost unacceptable.

In a sense what we are witnessing, through Jesus, is the relationship of faith evolving. The commitment that Jesus is offering his disciples is recommitment to the faith of their fathers. And yet the faith that Jesus if offering here sounds somewhat strange to them. Last week we heard his audience ask, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” But faith is evolving here and changing. Of course change is difficult. We are fortunate to have the vantage point of where we are in history. We can now understand that faith in God is now beyond any tribal borders and is indeed universal. This was clarified through the work of St. Paul and the early Christian community.

But we can only imagine the bewilderment of the people who heard this invitation. We should marvel at the stance of Peter and the remaining disciples. To recommit to a relationship when that relationship is definitely changing is to take a leap of faith into the unknown. Our faith continues to evolve in our present day. Our current situation is in the midst of great change and we must again renew our own faith tradition in light of what is happening to our society. What is God calling us to do? We must accept that this tradition will be consistent with that faith that Moses and Joshua had in God and with the faith that Jesus offered the disciples. But because our own situation has changed this faith will look different for us. One “sign of the times” that many of us are exploring is the question of our relationship towards creation. We are becoming well aware of the deep interconnection between what we do and how our environment reacts. Is it possible that our faith is growing towards a relationship not just with the global human community (which is still in need of development) but also with the larger ecological world? How shall we respond to this?

Paul’s use of the image of husband and wife is an excellent analogy for me to understand my own response to this evolving faith. The first covenant of our marriage was wonderful and in many ways simple, but the marriage developed and changed. Many aspects of our own relationship had to change when my daughter was born. That change was even greater after my son was born. I had wanted to go back to the covenant and expectations that we had originally made. It was my wife however who kept me in check with the fact that things have drastically changed and that if we were to continue in relationship we would have to accept a new dynamic in how we were to relate. This took me awhile but I began to see more clearly the truth of this matter. Our relationship had changed and if we were to choose to stay together then we had to renew our commitment based on the new dynamics that were part of our life. I remember taking a leap of faith and letting go with so much of my own expectation and desire. I also remember how years later I was able to again fully appreciate this renewal. Paul tells us that our relationship with God is quite similar. We do not live in a static unchanging environment. As God gets ready to change the dynamics of our relationship we will again be called to renew this relationship.

The time has come to lower our voices, to cease imposing our mechanistic patterns on the biological processes of the earth, to resist the impulse to control, to command, to force, to oppress, and to begin quite humbly to follow the guidance of the larger community on which all life depends. – Thomas Berry, The Dream of the Earth, pg. xiv introduction

Fr. Thomas Berry, Passionist priest, internationally-recognized historian of cultures and “earth scholar,” passed away on June 1, 2009 at Well-Spring Retirement Community, Greensboro, North Carolina. He was 94.

Rev. Berry’s writings and lectures on the relation of humans with the cosmos and the earth have notably influenced the intellectual and spiritual history of the 20^th and early 21^st centuries. He was awarded seven honorary doctorates and was the author of a number of books, most notably: The Dream of the Earth, 1988, winner of the 1992 National Lannan Non-Fiction Award; The Universe Story: From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Em, 1992, in collaboration with mathematical-cosmologist Brian Swimme; and The Great Work: Our Way Into the Future, 1999. Berry also authored eleven collections know as the Riverdale Papers.

“Thomas Berry will be remembered as one of the great religious environmental thinkers of our time. He was one of the first to suggest that the current environmental degradation comes from the loss of a sense of the Earth is a sacred community. He was truly a voice for the Earth,” said Fr. Joseph Mitchell, C.P., director of the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center located in Louisville.

Berry was a member of the Passionist Province of St. Paul of the Cross. His early career included teaching in China in 1948, but he left when Mao Tse Tung came to power in 1949. He continued his Asian studies in the U.S. at Seton Hall and Columbia Universities and also taught at the Asian Institute at St. John’s University (1961-1965). He was Associate Professor of Religion at Fordham University (1966-79) where he instituted the doctoral program in the History of Religions.

In 1970 Thomas inaugurated the Riverdale (NY) Center for Religious Research.  Annual conferences explored themes such as Energy: It’s Cosmic-Human Dimensions; The Future: Technological Society Man’s Covenant?; and The Ecological Age. Scholars from around the world came to the center to participate in rethinking their disciplines in light of newly-understood relations of humans to the earth. These activities culminated in the 1998 founding of the Thomas Berry Foundation, an integral part of the Harvard-based international Forum on Religious and Ecology (FORE).

Rev. Berry is survived by brothers Francis Xavier, Benedict Regis, Thomas Gabriel and Stephen Badin; a sister, Margaret, and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held in four places: St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Greensboro, NC, June 3rd; Immaculate Conception Passionist Monastery Chapel, Jamaica, NY, 11 am, June 6^th; Mass and interment, Green Mountain Monastery, Greensboro, 11 am, June 8^th; and a public memorial service at St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City, details to be arranged.

Donations honoring the deceased may be made to the Thomas Berry Foundation, c/o Professor Mary Evelyn Tucker, Department of Religious Studies, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837.

Please visit the official Thomas Berry Site.