VII. AVARIETYOFOPINIONS
60.
Finally, we need to acknowledge that different approaches and lines of thought have emerged
regarding this situation and its possible solutions. At one extreme, we find thosewho doggedlyuphold
the myth of progress and tell us that ecological problems will solve themselves simply with the
application of new technology and without any need for ethical considerations or deep change. At the
other extreme are those who viewmen andwomen and all their interventions as nomore than a threat,
jeopardizing the global ecosystem, and consequently the presence of human beings on the planet
should be reduced and all forms of intervention prohibited. Viable future scenarios will have to be
generated between these extremes, since there is no one path to a solution. This makes a variety of
proposals possible, all capable of entering into dialogue with a view to developing comprehensive
solutions.
61.
Onmany concrete questions, the Church has no reason to offer a definitive opinion; she knows
that honest debatemust be encouraged among experts, while respecting divergent views. But we need
only take a frank look at the facts to see that our common home is falling into serious disrepair. Hope
would have us recognize that there is always a way out, that we can always redirect our steps, that we
can always do something to solve our problems. Still, we can see signs that things are now reaching a
breakingpoint, due to the rapid pace of change and degradation; these are evident in large-scale natural
disasters as well as social and even financial crises, for the world’s problems cannot be analyzed or
explained in isolation. There are regions now at high risk and, aside from all doomsdaypredictions, the
present world system is certainly unsustainable from a number of points of view, for we have stopped
thinking about the goals of human activity. “If we scan the regions of our planet, we immediately see
that humanityhas disappointedGod’s expectations”.
35
35
ID.,
Catechesis
(17 January2001), 3:
Insegnamenti
24/1 (2001), 178.
