Greenaccord: towards the Jubilee in the light of the encyclical ‘Laudato sì’

Stimulating and deepening the debate on how the Vatican and the capital can welcome pilgrims during the Jubilee, according to criteria of environmental sustainability even in the less spiritual aspects such as that of waste: this is the meaning of the conference ‘Rome towards the Jubilee, in the light of the Laudato yes: circular economy and waste’, organized by Greenaccord onlus in the Auditorium Pontificio Collegio ‘Maria Mater Ecclesiae’.

Introducing the works, the president of Greenaccord, Alfonso Cauteruccio, underlined: “The founding idea of ​​the Jubilee starts from the biblical concept of the rest of the earth which provided for a year every seven years in which it was left to rest to regenerate. It follows that the Jubilee cannot be untied from Laudato Sì. The idea is to provide Rome, with a view to 2025, of permanent structures that guarantee improved services for Roman citizens, responding to the dictates of Bergoglio’s encyclical”.

On the other hand Msgr. Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the dicastery for Evangelization highlighted a threefold reading of the papal encyclical: “Laudato sì should be read in a threefold dimension: as integral ecology, as integral conversion and as integral spirituality. Therefore, it should not be linked only to nature, but to all the poverties of the world.

And among these poverties, there is also nature, impoverished by the evil that man causes with his actions, abusing the goods that God has placed in our hands. A wealth that we have reduced to poverty. A leap forward is needed to rediscover the beauty of Creation.

In this sense, in view of the Jubilee, as the Vatican, we have suggested to the Italian and Capitoline authorities some projects that affect the suburbs of the city to make them more beautiful as well as cleaner, with environmental interventions, in which life can be rediscovered in community, sociability”.

For the scientific director of Greenaccord, Andrea Masullo, recycling is necessary: ​​“In waste management, one is commonly interested in what remains of the products after use and in finding a suitable final destination for them. But this is not enough.

For the European Union, waste management is the key element so that we can speak of a true circular economy which, that is, brings benefits to the local and global environment, favors competitiveness, economic growth, employment and the innovation.

As the Jubilee approaches, Rome, which will see millions of pilgrims arrive, will have to choose which path to take: that of adjusting the existing system or that of innovation aimed at recycling”.

Therefore it is necessary to use renewable resources, reduce the environmental impact of industrial processes, reduce C02 emissions, as illustrated by Delio Belmonte, councilor of Assorisorse: “The Zerowaste industrial scheme is based on the integration of different technologies that allow recover waste and treat unsorted waste, making the most of all the recoverable components and converting the non-recoverable fractions into biomethane, hydrogen and chemicals”.

From the scientific director of Greenaccord, Andrea Masullo, we ask ourselves how to implement the circular economy: “The circular economy presupposes knowledge of the hidden history of goods, from the extraction of raw materials, which often takes place in poor countries, where they work even children or poorly paid labour, where forests are destroyed to make room for mining.

Recycling materials, reusing repairable objects so that others less fortunate can enjoy their second life, not wasting food and water, means returning a small part of what Pope Francis calls an ‘ecological debt’ to the world’s poor. Using renewable energies means limiting the climate changes from which those who have not contributed to causing them suffer in particular”.

And he explained how the circular economy can be combined with the papal encyclical: “In the unity of thought of the encyclical, where everything is linked (poverty, environment, finance and war), there is the greatest push towards an ethical finance oriented towards the distribution of well-being for all and not towards the massification of profits for the few.

It must be said that what is approaching 2025 is not a humanity in celebration but, as also represented by the symbol chosen, it is a lost and frightened humanity, which moves on a stormy sea in search of a way to salvation: the cross as an anchor.

We are in the midst of a climatic crisis which is heading towards catastrophe and which is already showing its effects today: the terrible drought in the Horn of Africa contrasted with the massive floods in Pakistan, the acceleration of the melting of the glaciers, the specter of atomic war has returned to knock on the doors of Europe, just to name a few.

All this while the world population has reached eight billion people, determined by impressive growth in poor countries and decline in old ones, inversely proportional to the economic gap that sees the richest 10% of the population in every part of the world hold between 60 and 80% of global wealth”.

Then the president of Greenaccord, Alfonso Cateruccio, explained how to experience the Jubilee in the light of the encyclical ‘Laudato sì’: “The founding idea of ​​the Jubilee starts from the biblical concept of the rest of the earth which foresaw a year every seven years in which it was left to rest to regenerate.

Furthermore, setting out on a penitential journey towards Rome presupposed the awareness of having to live in harmony with the nature crossed and of being more vulnerable because the usual protections were lacking and assistance and welcome were needed.

Being wayfarers must necessarily assume a style that involves crossing the common house lightly, making sure that our passage on earth has the least possible impact. It follows that the Jubilee cannot be detached from the ideals of the encyclical ‘Laudato Sì’: pilgrims in search of inner conversion but aware that it is linked to the ecological conversion that makes us be and feel in harmony with Creation”.

What is Greenagreement?

“Greenaccord is a non-profit cultural association of Christian inspiration, created to stimulate the commitment of all men and women of any creed and religious confession, on the theme of nature conservation. Greenaccord proposes a series of national and international forums aimed at all information professionals with the aim of soliciting secular and in-depth reflection through an ongoing debate on the role and responsibility of the journalist in relation to ecological issues.

Indeed, never before has today’s media system, through its powerful apparatus of representation of the world and description of ‘reality’, influenced identity, language, thought, shared values, historical memory, individual behavior and social. Hence the idea of ​​involving journalists in their role as opinion makers, rethinking their role and social responsibility”.

(Photo: Greenaccord)