Being Stewards of the Earth

“On climate change, there is a clear, definitive and ineluctable ethical imperative to act.”

Pope Francis, Message to UN Convention on Climate Change, 2015

Stewardship of creation is one of the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching. The goods of the earth are gifts from God, and they are intended by God for the benefit of everyone. We have a responsibility to care for these goods as stewards and trustees, not as mere consumers and users. How we treat the environment is a measure of our stewardship, a sign of our respect for the Creator.

Pope Francis and Vatican Laudato Si’ 

Additional resources

Resources and Partners

CMSM Statements on Climate Change

Climate Science and Health Issues

Socially Responsible Investing and Purchasing

  • CMSM webinar on green investment and Dayton University’s experience of divesting from fossil products.
  • Better World Shopper identifies companies on environmental records and other issues (not a Catholic resource)

Member Spotlight: Franciscan Friars Conventual, Our Lady of the Angels Province responds to Laudato Si’

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