As time goes by, more and more I am persuaded that this ‘blue dot’ planet that we call Earth, and Pope Francis called Our Common Home, is a prophet in the sense of calling to us to listen to the voice of God, writes Anne Lanyon.
And more and more I ask, “Are we listening? Do we know how to listen? How can we learn to listen to Earth speaking to us?
Twenty-first century, human-induced planetary climate change is one symptom of Earth crying out that we humans have become disconnected from the rest of the natural world. We can respond out of fear of fire, flood, pandemics and seek all kinds of solutions.
But the shift in ecological consciousness called for by Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical letter Laudato Si’, on care for our common home is what is required: to listen, learn, contemplate and respond. “A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renewal.” (LS #202)
Put simply, humans are ‘earthlings’ and we need to learn how to reconnect with all of the life systems with which we are interconnected and interdependent. The reality is that species’ biodiversity, which has evolved over eons, and which humans are the most recent, is being diminished and many other-than-human species are becoming threatened or extinct.
The arrival of the H5 bird flu in Australia exacerbates biodiversity decline. Where the cause is human made, that is not good. It belies our Judeo-Christian story of the evolution of life on Earth, which speaks of God’s creation as very good (Genesis 1:31).
Australia is one of 17 megadiverse countries. Almost 10% of species known to humans are unique. Yet our lifestyles and actions are continuing to lead to species’ extinction. Surely, we have no such right? Being aware of this and responding is part of the long path of cultural, spiritual and educational renewal that Pope Francis called for in Laudato Si’.
September begins the Season of Creation, which Christian churches globally are now taking up. This year’s theme of ‘Living Water’ from Ezekiel 47:9 and 12 offers a biblical vision of hope and ecological restoration.
September is also Biodiversity Month in Australia when ecological scientists share their knowledge and invite us to connect with nature and care for it in all its diversity. The theme this year is ‘Acting locally for global impact’.
These two seasonal foci bring together faith and ecology in the renewal journey of people learning to reconnect with our natural world so that we care for each other. It is a spiritual journey.
The anxiety that many people are experiencing about life and the future, especially young people, is a manifestation of the spiritual yearning. In his 2026 message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, marking the beginning the Season of Creation, Pope Leo XVI is very much connecting war and ecological destruction as part of the same spiritual malaise:
“The wounds of war and the degradation of the Earth, then, are profoundly linked to the condition of the human heart. The conflicts that torment humanity are in many ways the outward expression of interior discord and division. When the heart is distorted, relationships suffer, and the structures we build begin to reflect that disorder.”
We are blessed to live on a diverse planet and in a diverse country. It takes all kinds of responses and all kinds of people listening, learning, contemplating from their diverse faith traditions, and taking action in this journey of growing ecological consciousness. There is no one way.
Pope Francis wrote: “If we are truly concerned to develop an ecology capable of remedying the damage we have done, no branch of the sciences and no form of wisdom can be left out, and that includes religion and the language particular to it.” (LS #63)
The Faith Ecology Network (FEN) is an ‘it takes all kinds’, diverse volunteer group of networks that simulates the diversity of the natural world. Its people are from the ecological sciences and many faith traditions, and it has been operating since 2003.
FEN originated as a work of the Columban Mission Institute, and since 2017 has been functioning under the auspices of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan. Its Core Leadership Group members are currently from the Jewish, Muslim, Baha’i and Catholic traditions.
Since 2022 FEN, responding to the cry of the earth and those suffering under destructive practices, has focussed on biodiversity as a way of growing ecological consciousness.
The Ten Ways to Care is a framework that draws from First Nations peoples, scientists, activists, community groups and faith traditions to inspire and guide people to care for biodiversity. It brings people together as they share a sense of wonder at the natural world.
As the Season of Creation and Biodiversity Month draw to a close on the day before the feast of St Francis of Assisi, FEN will again bring people into dialogue and learning, this time in Narrm (Melbourne).
In partnership with the Australian Earth Laws Alliance, FEN will host a one-day conference on Saturday 3 October on the theme, ‘Many Faiths, One Planet: Together, Caring for Our Common Home’. Of course, in the spirit of ‘It takes all kinds’, the conference will be held at Melbourne’s Multicultural Hub.
