By Carmen M. Hubbard

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES DEANERY — The need to protect and nurture the earth is not only the responsibility of everyone but our Christian duty under God’s law: That’s the message Archbishop Celestino Migliore conveyed Oct. 26 at Xavier University in Cincinnati as part of the Ethics/Religion and Society lecture series.

Archbishop Migliore is the Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and was the guest speaker, along with Jame Schafer, associate professor of theology at Marquette University, for the event, "The Lord God Took the Man and Put Him in the Garden of Eden to Till It and Keep It (Genesis 2:15)." The discussion was co-sponsored by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and Xavier’s theology department at the Schiff Family Conference Center of Xavier’s Cintas Center.

CT/E.L. HUBBARD

Archbishop Celestino Migliore and Dr. Jame Schafer respond to questions at Xavier _University Oct. 26.

"We humans must be part of the solution and keep humans beings at the center of the solution," he said.

As part of his duties with the United Nations, Archbishop Migliore has traveled the world spreading the message of conservation and sharing stories of prevention to stop further damage to the global climate change. He addressed the U.N. General Assembly regarding global climate change last year.

The archbishop said efforts to mitigate effects, such as adjusting energy production, pollutant consumption and suffering as a way of sacrifice, are needed to reduce greenhouse gases.

"This is difficult to sell, because we have to learn how to cope," Archbishop Migliore said. "We hear about and watch devastation, but hear little about prevention. "Fear and anxiety do not help solve the problem."

Ultimately, the archbishop says everyone must be responsible to the inter-laws of creation and obey them to maintain a healthy global environment.

Dr. Schafer noted that moral action "is part of the Catholic social teaching. It’s needed at all levels and adapt to changes we cannot not avoid. Acting (based on Catholic social teaching) must be concurrent on all levels to adverse the effects (of global climate change)."

Schafer’s theological work focuses on the constructive relationship between theology and the natural sciences with special attention to religious foundations for ecological ethics.

Linda Finkey of Mt. Lookout asked the speakers if they thought American Catholic parishioners have been asked to live modestly and sacrifice wants for the greater good of the planet.

"I think that’s an awful oversight of responsibility. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a challenge at the expense of our planet," she said.

Archbishop Migliore said his visit to Cincinnati was his third trip to Ohio, where discussions about global climate change and the church’s role proved that people are concerned about it.

"The difference is there should be appeals to decrease what we are consuming," Schafer said. "Everyone of us has to look and be careful. The theologians called for us (not to overuse) sustainability."

Xavier’s Ethics/Religion and Society lecture series is devoting its 2008-2009 season to the theme of global climate change.