Kerala Church advocates a ‘green spirituality’

The Churches in Kerala have launched several programs to increase the green cover in the southern state and check global warming.
The Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church is observing June as “eco-friendly” month and recently set up an ecological commission and plans to distribute 100,000 trees in its parishes.
The Syro-Malabar Church will also hold a meeting in Kochi in August to discuss the present ecological problems in depth, said spokesperson Father Paul Thelakat.
“The Catholic Church is very concerned about the ecological issues that threaten this planet. The present generation is polluting the air, water and earth beyond repair and that is definitely sinful,” he said.
The Syro-Malabar Church had already launched a program to foster environment sensitivity among its members last year.
The Church is committed to promoting a “green spirituality” among the people, said Bishop Mathew Arackal of Kanjirapally who heads the program.
“Our program is not only for our faithful but for everybody,” he said. “Global warming has great impact on our lives. Climate change has hit the farming community.”
Latin-rite Archbishop Maria Calist Soosa Pakiam of Trivandrum has also appealed to his flock to adopt a green spirituality.
He planted a sapling on the premises of St. Joseph’s Cathedral on June 6.
“God has created Mother Earth with its rich bio-diversity and we have destroyed it,” the archbishop said. “We should practice conservation and preservation of nature to avoid future tragedies.”