that the harmonywhich Saint Francis of Assisi experienced with all creatures was seen as a healing of
that rupture. Saint Bonaventure held that, through universal reconciliation with every creature, Saint
Francis in some way returned to the state of original innocence.
40
This is a far cry from our situation
today, where sin is manifest in all its destructive power in wars, the various forms of violence and
abuse, the abandonment of themost vulnerable, and attacks onnature.
67.
We are not God. The earth was here before us and it has been given to us. This allows us to
respond to the charge that Judaeo-Christian thinking, on the basis of the Genesis account which grants
man “dominion” over the earth (cf.
Gen
1:28), has encouraged the unbridled exploitation of nature by
painting him as domineering and destructive by nature. This is not a correct interpretation of theBible
as understood by the Church. Although it is true that we Christians have at times incorrectly
interpreted the Scriptures, nowadays we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in
God’s image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute dominationover other creatures. The
biblical texts are to be read in their context, with an appropriate hermeneutic, recognizing that they tell
us to “till and keep” the garden of theworld (cf.
Gen
2:15). “Tilling” refers to cultivating, ploughingor
working, while “keeping” means caring, protecting, overseeing and preserving. This implies a
relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature. Each community can take
from the bounty of the earth whatever it needs for subsistence, but it also has the duty to protect the
earth and to ensure its fruitfulness for coming generations. “The earth is the Lord’s” (
Ps
24:1); to him
belongs “the earth with all that is within it” (
Dt
10:14). Thus God rejects every claim to absolute
ownership: “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; for you are strangers and
sojournerswithme” (
Lev
25:23).
68.
This responsibility for God’s earth means that human beings, endowed with intelligence, must
respect the laws of nature and the delicate equilibria existing between the creatures of this world, for
“he commanded and they were created; and he established them for ever and ever; he fixed their
bounds and he set a lawwhich cannot pass away” (
Ps
148:5b-6). The laws found in theBible dwell on
relationships, not only among individuals but also with other living beings. “You shall not see your
brother’s donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and withhold your help… If you chance to come
40
Cf. BONAVENTURE,
TheMajor Legend of Saint Francis
, VIII, 1, in
Francis of Assisi: EarlyDocuments
, vol. 2, New
York-London-Manila, 2000, 586.
