Friday, October 02, 2009

Global economy imperils Earth, humanity

Last spring, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns invited Maryknoll missioners, affiliate groups and others to take part in a reflection process on the connections between our faith, ecology and the global economy. The thoughtful reflections from around the world have been crafted into a new statement entitled “Global economy imperils Earth, humanity,” which begins:
With nearly 100 years experience in joining our lives with communities and people throughout the world, Maryknoll missioners discovered something that others were able to realize only after seeing Earth photographs that astronauts took from space. We are one humanity interconnected with all matter on a tiny planet within a vast, expansive universe. We are challenged now to act quickly to rescue Earth and its inhabitants from destruction and extinction.

At the heart of the current global social and ecological crises is an economic system that tries to lock interconnected societies into unsustainable patterns of production, over-consumption and waste generation, all driven by the mandate to grow. To date this growth-driven economic model has proven to promote overgrowth in some areas while leaving vulnerable populations with no benefits of development.

Therefore, the Maryknoll community respectfully urges that:

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