INTEGRITY OF CREATION

According to Pope John Paul II, “world peace is threatened not only by the arms
race, regional conflicts and the continued injustices among people, but also by the lack of
respect for nature.” (1990, Pope John Paul II. Peace with God the Creator, Peace with all
of Creation). When God created the world, he made it pretty sure that it would be
wonderful and very good. But mankind little by little neglects the chance to enjoy it due
to some irresponsible actions and decisions that devastate the God’s creation. But the
challenge to make it still a better place to live lies into our own human hands.

The cry of humanity now is for human interaction as our world is getting smaller
and smaller, we are getting farther and farther from one another. Mission would need to
bring back that closeness of the presence of Jesus through flesh and blood, men and
women: spending quality time with people, especially those who are abandoned, those
who are neglected by society and the general culture. (2006. Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle.
CICM-RP Centennial Celebration) (2007. Carrying on the Mission: 100 Years of CICM
in the Philippines, p.89).

Bayanihan goes into the roots of unspoiled Filipino spirituality to build and uplift
the community through cooperation and collaboration. Mutual assistance takes many
forms such as transferring a house, planting and harvesting, cleaning the neighborhood, or
carrying out a crusade. (2007. Carrying on the Mission: 100 Years of CICM in the
Philippines, p.89). Our social responsibility is a communal activity driven with passion
to imitate our own care and concern for the world and humanity.

Humans as steward of God’s creation

We are called to be stewards of God’s creation. Educating people is one of the

necessary means to understand our role as humans in the world. Everyone is aware of the
danger of dumping garbage anywhere in our surroundings. That is one part of messing
with the environment. Destroying the sanctity of the environment from its natural
condition is destroying the habitat of humanity itself. So, it is a call for everyone to have
social awareness about the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) to help lessen the impact into
our environment. This is our world and it is our social responsibility to take good care of
it.

The Missionary who Planted trees

“Try another lifestyle, a Christ-like way of life. Simplicity of life: sharing the
superfluous,” Fr. Ben Erkens, CICM, once wrote Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Rina
Jimenez-David. “That changes our attitudes, our environment.” In a nutshell, this was Fr.
Ben’s way of main wishes and dreams come true.

Growing up in scenic Holland, Fr. Ben brought his passion for plants and trees to
the Philippines when he arrived here as a CICM missionary in 1995. The lush forests,
gurgling streams, graceful hills and verdant valleys of his youth helped Fr. Ben to develop
a deep affection for plants. He loved them, cared for them and grew them in every
available space. SMU (St. Mary’s University) Reforestation Project and Ecological Station
is one of the examples of Fr. Erkens legacy towards the environment as the students
continued Fr. Erkens’ tree-planting crusade so that the forest will come to life once more.
Fr. Ben’s “unusual scholarship and environment project” really has gained admirers, like
the Inquirer’s columnist David, who has asked readers to support him.

The apostolate that gave joy to Fr. Ben in his ministry is expressed in his love for
the environment. CICM missionaries exemplified the courageous act of concern towards
the environment regardless of any cultural conflict among areas in the Philippines. Their
love for the mission is what God wants them to be. It is their passion towards their mission
that gave them strength to do it.

Preserve the forest

Trees help us not only in providing us furniture and other things, but most
importantly by purifying the air and also hold the soil with their roots to stop soil erosion.
We are stewards of God’s creation. We must be responsible in all the things we do
concerning our mother nature. We are called to help protect and preserve our natural
resources.

The Philippine Environment Code is composed of the Air Quality Management

whose purpose in section 2 of the Article is to achieve and maintain such level of air quality
as to protect public health, and to prevent to the greatest extent practicable, injury and/or
damage to plant and animal life and property, and promote the socio-economic
development of the country.

Another concern of the Philippine Environment Code is the Water Quality

Management of section 14 whose purpose is to prescribe management guidelines aimed
to protect and improve the quality of Philippines water resources through: Classification
of Philippine waters, establishment of water quality standards, protection and
improvement of the quality of Philippine water resources, and responsibilities for
surveillance and mitigation of pollution incidents.

Section 42, Waste Management, has the purpose to set guidelines for waste
management with a view to ensuring its effectiveness, to encourage, promote and stimulate
technological, educational, economic and social efforts to prevent environmental damage
and unnecessary loss of valuable resources of the nation through recovery, recycling and
re-use of wastes and waste products, and to provide measures to guide and encourage
appropriate government agencies in establishing sound, efficient, comprehensive and
effective waste management.