Amanda Diable

Senior Integrative Seminar

Module 5: Discussion:
Pope Francis, if I may, I would like to comment on a few statements you made. First and
foremost, I thought what you said in your letter was both interesting and quite meaningful. I am
someone who cares about the environment, and I want to help end some of the evil in the world.
I took great meaning from your quote, “The violence present in our heart, wounded by sin, is
also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all
forms of life” Until today, I never thought of sickness as being evil, but it truly is. Looking back,
I had an aunt that passed away suddenly due to a very aggressive brain tumor. The warning signs
were very minor and were missed, that was until the day that a family friend discovered her
passed out in the driver seat of her van at a stop sign. I remember the doctors saying it was the
most aggressive brain cancer she could have, and she might only have six months to live. She
survived two weeks before passing away. So yes, in this I believe that sickness is evil, as this
was a woman who spent her life serving and caring for others, who then suffered. I would also
like to take a moment and address where you stated, “We have forgotten that we ourselves are
dust on the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air
and we receive life and refreshment from her waters” I agree that our earth is our home, and we
live through the earth. The very trees surrounding us provide us with the air we breathe, and the
waterways provide the water we drink. I would like to state; however, that a clear environmental
issue that we face as a world and society is the ways in which we treat the waters from which we
receive these refreshments. But alas, we will go into more details on this matter in our continued
conversation.
Let me continue by next discussing with you in more detail the losses to biodiversity
itself. It is my interpretation of your words, and correct me if I am misunderstanding, that due to
human activity several species of animals and plants are becoming extinct. I was saddened by the
realization, as you stated, “Each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal
species which we will never know, which our children will never see, because they have been
lost forever. The great majority became extinct for reasons related to human activity.” It makes
me wonder what I haven’t been able to learn about or experience in my own life that is now gone
forever. I also agree with your words explaining why we need to do more to help save the animal
and plant species from going extinct. Let me again revisit the issue of water pollution. This is a
problem that is caused distinctly and solely at the hands of humanity. Just think, we wash our
cars in the driveway and most of us probably wash the soap down the driveway onto the road
where the soap and chemicals used can enter the waterways. Or another example, a lot of people
do not buy organic food, which means they are supporting farmers who use harmful pesticides
which can be washed into the waterways when it rains. And please, let’s not even delve into the
issue of oil spills, which have caused countless deaths to animals and disruptions to the aquatic
ecosystems at large. You provided two excellent examples yourself relating to the existence of
wildlife. The first, when you stated, “Oceans not only contain the bulk of our planet’s water
supply, but also most of the immense variety of living creatures, many of them still unknown to
us and threatened for various reasons. What is more, marine life in rivers, lakes, seas and oceans,
which feeds a great part of the world’s population, is affected by uncontrolled fishing, leading to
a drastic depletion of certain species,” The second, of course, being when you stated, “Many of
the world’s coral reefs are already barren or in a state of constant decline…This phenomenon is
de largely to pollution which reaches the sea as the result of deforestation, agricultural
monocultures, industrial waste and destructive fishing methods, especially those using cyanide
and dynamite.” I believe that humans need to do more to protect the ecosystems we have already
done immeasurable damage to, and to save the animals and plants living within them. It is a
problem that we have caused and then continued to exacerbate over time.
In furthering our conversation, I respond in bringing up three additional sources that I
feel clearly and completely in their combination emphasize the same issues you are describing
seeing the world facing. Greta Thunberg discusses climate, doing her best to advocate for change
through her passionate words. She states that, “…entire ecosystems are collapsing and we are in
the beginning of mass extinction.” I believe these words match your own when you talked about
the number animal and plant species that are going extinct due to human’s impacts. Sir David
Attenborough’s true and yet frightening projection that, “What we do in the next ten years will
profoundly impact the next few thousand,” also stands out to me. His video goes on to talk about
every animal and plant having to do its part for the Earth to survive. We are all connected to one
another and as species become distinct and ecosystems collapse, no one knows what the future
will hold. The final source I believe emphasizes your words is information from the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration. Their information details clearly the effects through the
changes in warming air temperatures, a rise in carbon dioxide, and changes in water vapor
among others. Each of these changes have dire effects on the environmental issue I stated above,
the ways in which we treat the waters from which we receive refreshments. I also think that
humans have to do their part as well in order to save as many species as possible of animals and
plants so that we can save the ecosystems. Everything is changing, and although it might be
impossible to completely stop the change, I believe there has to be a way to help the situation.
My response to you, Pope Francis, is through justifying what you yourself are saying and
wanting to find solutions to help stop climate change; solutions to saving species of animals and
plants, and what more I personally can do to help the entire situation.
I feel as though I have bent your ear nearly enough, but allow me just a few moments
longer to share with you some learning that I have taken away from my own research and
studies. The World Wildlife Federation video Our Planet: Our Business left me with important
questions and thoughts. In the video, it discusses that there are millions of species and billions of
individuals which makes the Earth act like a living organism. Every creature and plant have to
play its part in order for the Earth to survive. The PBS News Hours Video Our Planet Our
Business by Greta Thunberg was very touching. The climate is changing without a doubt and
there isn’t nearly enough being done to stop it; a fact I had some base knowledge on but I didn’t
realize the extent of I saw this video. Climate change has been going on for over 30 years and
there is no solution in sight. I feel this is something that we should be working towards to help.
Even though I know the climate affects a lot, I never really thought about how much it affects
everything on a larger scale, such as entire ecosystems collapsing as a very dire result. This video
impacts my own future, as it does all of ours, and it has me thinking about the ecosystems and
when they may eventually, and to my dismay, completely collapse. Will they all collapse
because of the climate change? Is there a way to stop or slow down the climate change
occurring? What will the future hold regarding climate change? These are questions I continue to
ponder even as I close my discussion with you. I think everyone’s future is affected by climate
change, and today is the moment to begin focusing on the effects on a holistic scale. Thank you
for allowing me to discuss with you my thoughts and wonderings, I look forward to more
discussions with you in the future.
 Works Cited:

Global Climate Change: Virtual Signs of the Planet. NASA. Updated Daily.

https://climate.nasa.gov/earth-now/#/vitalsign?vitalsign=visible_earth&altid=0&animating=f.

Accessed 14 November 2022.

“Greta Thunberg’s Full Speech to World Leaders at UN Climate Action Summit.” YouTube,

Uploaded by PBS News Hour, 23 September 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=KAJsdgTPJpU&t=72s

“Our Planet: Our Business.” YouTube, Uploaded by WWF International, 27 June 2019,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdWQJq2OkJs&t=9s

Pope Francis. 2015. Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home [Encyclical].