The Catholic environment

In the Catechism, we have a section on where they talk about the respect of the integrity of creation. I think it is important for people to understand that we Catholics do care for our environment not just for the poor as Mark Stoll had said, and I quote, "Catholics have not been prominent environmentalists in the past because their religious worldview encouraged a sense of sacredness among a community of people rather than with nature." Even Pope Benedict XVI has seen that environmentalism is a part of a deeper spiritual away from what he called in Australia the “folly of consumerism,” toward a lifestyle rooted in the traditional virtues of self-sacrifice and solidarity. The pope also sees care for the earth as part of a whole of moral truths, including defense of human life and dignity. He shows us that we should treat our environment with the most respect. In the Catechism there is a section (2415) and it says:

"The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity.195 Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation."

To us this quote really sums 2415 in the Catechism and is a really good perspective. This quote says, "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."- From The Great Law of The Iroquois Confederacy

Another part of the Catechism where it really talks about the environment and how man should treat it is 346 which says:

"In creation God laid a foundation and established laws that remain firm, on which the believer can rely with confidence, for they are the sign and pledge of the unshakeable faithfulness of God's covenant. For his part man must remain faithful to this foundation, and respect the laws which the Creator has written into it."

Really all that this is saying is that humans have the domain over the animals and that we have the responsibility to take care of them and their environment.