PANJIM: The Archbishop of Archdiocese of Goa and Daman Most Rev Filipe Neri Ferrão has emphasised upon the need to urgently preserve the environment in the ‘Pastoral Letter of the Pastoral Year 2021-22,’ which was released recently.
This is mentioned in the second part of the letter, where the Archbishop places before the faithful, eight pastoral concerns.
The Archbishop speaks about an ‘emergency before mankind’ in the eight aforementioned ‘concern’, under the title, “Be protectors and stewards of God’s creation”.
The Archbishop begins by saying, “The disciple who encounters Jesus becomes a protector and a steward of God’s creation.”
“There is an emergency before humankind; the emergency of preserving this world to subsequent generations. There is a challenge before us which needs to be addressed without wasting time; the challenge of preserving clean air, clean water, hills and forests, fields and rivers,” the Archbishop continues.
“The more we delay to listen to the cry of God’s creation, the further we walk the path of self-destruction. There is a need for governments and citizens to work together to fulfil their responsibility towards God’s creation,” the Archbishop concludes.
While the pastoral letter does not mention any particular issue, group or specify any government, the concern expressed in the letter, comes against the backdrop of a large section of society opposing infrastructure projects on the grounds that it could cause extensive damage to the environment, biodiversity, forests etc in the State.
