World Fisheries Day: ‘Christians cannot look the other way’
As more than 58 million people work in the fishing sector, Cardinal Michael Czerny issues message on World Fisheries Day, warning against aggressive economic model that has damaged environment.
By Kielce Gussie
Each year, the United Nations celebrates World Fisheries Day on November 21 to highlight the importance of having sustainable fish stocks worldwide, eliminating illegal and unregulated fishing, and promoting the human rights of communities. artisanal fishermen. This year’s theme is “Let the waters teem with living creatures,” inspired by the book of Genesis.
On Tuesday, November 12, the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Integral Human Development, Cardinal Michael Czerny, published a message reflecting on the importance of this day.
Fishing: an ancient job
“Fishing, which is one of the oldest forms of human work,” explains the prefect, “has changed a lot in many regions of the world.” The causes of this change concern “the harm caused to our common home”. The relationship between human labor and concern for the environment has become unbalanced through the use of “predatory practices and technologies for the benefit of an increasingly influential and powerful minority.”
More than 58 million people work in the fishing and aquaculture sector
With more than 58 million people involved in fisheries and aquaculture worldwide, Cardinal Czerny warned against turning a blind eye to actions that do not take into account concern for the environment. He declared that “the Church shares the joys and hopes but also the sorrows and sorrows” of humanity which must now emphasize fraternity rather than the “globalization of indifference” to protect and preserve the environment.
“Beyond passivity and pessimism”
The prefect recalled the words of Pope Francis during the first World Meeting of Popular Movements, welcoming their conscious efforts to take a stand against passivity and pessimism. The pope said their “most important contribution” was not to step back but to take the lead.
To do this, explained the prefect, emphasis must be placed on the use of technologies to “preserve the dignity and safety of work and restore the balance between the individual, work and the environment”. He urged lawmakers to defend small communities, families and local fishing organizations because they have the opportunity to “contribute directly and effectively to the common good.”
A step in this direction was the One Ocean Summit in 2022, where 14 countries committed to combating illegal fishing with the aim of managing fisheries resources sustainably.
In his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, the pope warns against exploitation and destruction of the environment.
A pope for the environment
Cardinal Czerny ended by relying on the words of Pope Francis stressing the importance of prayer to be open “to sharing the goods which are intended for all because they come from creation”.
Concern for the common home of humanity has been a recurring theme of Francis’ pontificate. In his 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’, The Pope warned against exploitation and destruction of the environment and urged everyone to consider the environment as “a collective good, the heritage of all humanity and the responsibility” of all.
