‘The fruits of the earth were given to feed all without distinction and nobody can claim any particular rights. Instead, we have lost the sense of the communion of goods, rushing to turn these goods into private property.’

The above words, sounding remarkably contemporary, were actually written by St Ambrose in the fourth century, as a reflection upon starvation amongst the poor of his day. They are amongst many quotations and insights from two thousand years of Catholic Social Teaching, to be found in ‘The Call of Creation’ – a very inspiring document published by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

‘The Call of Creation’ is a response by our Bishops to the environmental challenges facing humanity in the 21st Century. The report begins by looking at depletion of natural resources, abuse and pollution of the planet, the impact upon the world’s poor, and the loss of beauty and diversity in our world.

The response to the environmental crisis is to draw on our own moral and religious foundations. The reader is presented with aspects of God and His Creation as revealed in Scripture and Church Teaching, and challenged to respond by education, action and ‘personal responsibility and conversion of life’.

CAFOD have just compiled a superb resource to help individuals and groups to use this report to explore how our faith is linked to environmental issues. It is called the ‘Call of Creation Toolkit’.

The Toolkit looks very useful for use by Parish groups of adults or young people, as it comes with superb visual images, challenging stories, questions for reflection, words of inspiration, opening and closing liturgies, and an optional Powerpoint presentation. It would be especially appropriate for use with an Advent or Lent Group, or as a resource to be included in a Confirmation programme.

For further information about the ‘Call of Creation Toolkit’, please contact our Diocesan CAFOD Manager, David Cross, on (01904) 671767 or see www.cafod.org.uk. David will also be delighted to lead a workshop on ‘The Call of Creation’ to parish groups, and also offers other sessions on Catholic Social Teaching which can be found in the Adult Formation Department ‘Handbook of Short Courses’. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.