At this point in history, as we experience mass conflict and climate change, I am reminded that ordinary people have the power to bring about great change, writes Alice Carwardine.
In the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Social Justice Statement for 2024-2025, Truth & Peace: A Gospel Word in a Violent World, we read that as a global community we are experiencing 55 state-based conflicts and 82 non-state conflicts. This also happens to be more conflicts than during World War II, with approximately 25% of the global population living in places where conflict is occurring.
The writing is on the wall – we just aren’t calling it World War III, yet.
Last year, Pope Francis reminded us in Laudate Deum, that despite his words in Laudato Si’ eight years prior, not enough has been done to decrease fossil fuel use around the world to reduce global warming and climate change. In parts of Australia, we are now experiencing a 1.5° increase in average temperatures, which caused Western Australia to have extreme heat days in August this year.
As a teenager, I used to love watching the sci-fi TV series Doctor Who. There was a spin-off series called Torchwood, which was an anagram of Doctor Who. Torchwood was a small band of world-saving, ordinary humans (and one alien) who battled monsters on earth while the Doctor travelled the universe.
Torchwood on BBC Three.
The members of Torchwood looked up to the Doctor as a bit of a god. At one point in the series, the world was facing a crisis where the evil aliens were going to kill 10% of earth’s children. Despite all the political bargaining and discussion, the world leaders couldn’t come to an agreement about how to deal with the situation.
One of the characters records a final message in the lead up to the end and says something along the lines of, “I used to wonder why the Doctor wasn’t always here to save us. I know now. I know why the Doctor isn’t here all the time, saving humans all the time. Sometimes the Doctor must look at this planet and turn away in shame.”
Sounds almost theological.
But when the world is fictitiously ending from alien invasions, planetary bombs, or as the result of genocidal maniacs, the Doctor and his companions always find a way to bring hope and save the day. All of them are ordinary humans.
And the Doctor is known to find that very hopeful.
He finds hope in ordinary human beings with a drive to make the world a better place. He fights for them.
At this point in history, as we experience mass conflict and climate change, I am reminded that ordinary people have the power to make great change.
Pope Francis’ message for the Season of Creation this year is Hope and Act with Creation. In my mind, I also hear the words “without hesitation”.
To Hope and Act with Creation, without hesitation.
At Catholic Earthcare I have the pleasure of working with schoolteachers, parishioners and other Catholic professionals as they discern what ‘Acting with Creation’ means within their contexts. Whether that includes bush caring, or investing in renewable energies, or starting community gardens, putting in recycling and compost bins. Ordinary people doing ordinarily good actions and making great change.
We bring people together to reflect, pray and learn. We host regular community online screenings of films about ecological topics. Our networks meet quarterly to discuss how we can better connect and support each other. This has helped lift projects off the ground for disaster risk reduction in our local communities.
I think our God looks at Earth and sees these actions, and also feels hope.
After all, hope alone means nothing without action.
We encourage communities to reflect on the seven Laudato Si’ goals and use these as a guide to take action within their context. Our resources help communities to develop a Laudato Si’ action plan. The seven goals appropriately guide communities not only towards climate action, but also climate and ecological justice.
Meanwhile, our colleagues at Caritas are responding to climate displacement, the need for food security for our most vulnerable, and are sending aid to conflict-ridden areas. We have teams helping to advocate for better disaster risk reduction policy and strategy in their local areas to help reduce the impacts of increasingly severe weather events. Our partners teach agricultural techniques that are designed to create climate resilient farms.
We, the ordinary, can do this. We can make the world a better place.
