The Earth Charter

"A secularist reinterpretation of the 'Kingdom' has gained considerable ground, particularly, though not exclusively, in Catholic theology. The 'Kingdom,' on this interpretation, is simply the name for a world governed by peace, justice, and the conservation of creation. Our main criticism of the secular-utopian idea of the 'Kingdom' has been that it pushes God off the stage. He is no longer needed, or else he is a downright nuisance. But Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God, not just any kind of kingdom."

Additional articles about the Earth Charter and its proposed new global ethic, including comments from three Pontifical Councils, are provided further down this page.

In 1987, the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development issued a call for the creation of a charter that would set forth fundamental principles for sustainable development. An attempt to draft such a charter failed at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Beginning in 1994 and working outside the United Nations, several of the world's wealthiest and most powerful men crafted their own document, which they named the Earth Charter. These men included Maurice Strong, oil/gas/hydro energy billionaire, president of the Earth Council Alliance, and former member of the Commission on Global Governance; Mikhail Gorbachev, former communist

dictator, Marxist, president of Green Cross International, and outspoken advocate of global government; and Gorbachev

Steven Rockefeller, multi-millionaire, head of the Earth Charter Commission, USA, and long-time advocate of global government. The USA arm of Gorbachev's Green Cross International is Global Green USA.

According to its founders, the Earth Charter is "a declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century."

Gorbachev and Strong claim to have written the Charter to rectify what they saw as the excessively "anthropocentric emphasis" of the Declaration on the Environment produced at the 1992 UN conference in Rio. The founders envision a global super-State to enforce the principles of the Charter, which associates of the Earth Charter often refer to as "global governance." On at least one occasion, Gorbachev referred to a new "world government": "The emerging 'environmentalization' of our civilization and the need for vigorous action in the interest of the entire global community will inevitably have multiple political consequences. Perhaps the most important of them will be a gradual change in the status of the United Nations. Inevitably, it must assume some aspects of a world government."⁷ According to the Earth Charter Campaign website, this new "international body" will not "be subservient to the rules of state sovereignty, demands of the free market, or individual rights." ¹²

The Earth Charter was officially launched in 2000. The plan is to disseminate the Earth Charter globally in schools and religious communities. Since 2000, the Charter has been formally endorsed by thousands of individuals and organizations, including UNESCO, IUCN (World Conservation Union), and numerous Catholic women religious orders.

The Earth Charter Commission hopes that the Charter will become a common standard “by which the conduct of all individuals, organizations, businesses, governments, and transnational institutions is to be guided and assessed” (Earth Charter Secretariat 2000). The Roman Catholic Church, as a transnational institution, would be required to follow the Earth Charter and its new "global governance." However, the only founding member of the Earth Charter Commission and principal author of the Earth Charter who was self-identified as being Catholic was Leonardo Boff, an ex-priest, Marxist, and leader of the liberation theology movement. John Paul II has criticized liberation theology and its advocates, accusing them of wrongly supporting violent revolution and Marxist class struggle. Boff was silenced by the Church in 1985 and resigned from the priesthood in 1991.

As of December 2009, Boff remained the only person identified by the Earth Charter Initiative as being "Roman Catholic" among members of their council, advisors, or commissioners. The Initiative's website continues to refer to Boff as an "internationally recognized Roman Catholic theologian" and "a leader of the liberation theology movement."²⁰ Despite claims to be "an extraordinarily diverse, global network," no active Catholic bishops or priests, or major Catholic theologians who are faithful to the teachings of the Church, can be found listed among the Initiative's many governing officials and advisors. To suggest that Boff provided authentic Catholic input for the so-called "world-wide, cross-cultural dialogue" that they claim informed the Earth Charter movement is ridiculous.

Lurking behind the Earth Charter is the concurrent demand made by the Charter's founders for a new global government to enforce the principles of the Earth Charter. In his 2003 Message for the World Day of Peace, Pope John Paul II warned us about the dangers of the type of global super-State envisioned by Charter proponents: "Is this not the time for all to work together for a new constitutional organization of the human family, truly capable of ensuring peace and harmony between peoples, as well as their integral development? But let there be no misunderstanding. This does not mean writing the constitution of a global super-State."

Pope John Paul II never endorsed the Earth Charter, nor has Pope Benedict XVI. Both Holy Fathers have criticized the beliefs underlying the Earth Charter, without necessarily mentioning the Charter by name. The Holy Fathers and representatives of at least three Pontifical Councils have spoken out against efforts to supplant Christian values with a new global ethic. Pope Benedict XVI refers to such efforts as "utopian dreaming without any real content."²¹

Prior to the drafting of the Earth Charter, Pope John Paul II recommended an addition to the United Nations Charter of Human Rights: "The right to a safe environment is ever more insistently presented today as a right that must be included in an updated Charter of Human Rights."⁸ The Church has never endorsed abandoning the United Nations or transforming the United Nations into a new world government or global super-State.

The website of the Earth Charter Initiative displays a copy of a private, internal Church fax or telegram which the Initiative touts as being an endorsement of the Earth Charter by Pope John Paul II. The fax is in no way an endorsement or sign of support for the Earth Charter. The truth about this fax is explained below in a brief article entitled, "Catholics Are Being Misled By The Earth Charter Initiative With A Private Fax."

Agenda for Totalitarianism

Since the collapse of communism, Boff, Gorbachev, and several other leading socialists, Marxists, and statists have switched to planetary environmentalism as the means to advance their personal and political agendas. History suggests that if people with these beliefs ever were to gain global power it would cost us our religious and political freedoms, regardless of whether or not they ever really saved the environment (which is doubtful).

Although carefully hidden from the text of the document, the Charter is part of a larger agenda to establish a centralized, authoritarian global super-government. This is not a conspiracy theory; the founders and associates of the Earth Charter movement have publicly acknowledged as much. In Steven Rockefeller's own words, "No nation state can exist any longer as a separate island capable of providing in isolation opportunity and security for its people. Local and global security can only be founded on the principles of global partnership and the sharing of sovereignty, leading to the creation of new systems of global governance."⁴ Gorbachev said the United Nations needs to "assume some aspects of a world government."⁷ As for democracy, Strong said, "We shouldn't wait until political democracy paves the way. We must act now."⁵ The Earth Charter adaptation for young people calls the Earth Charter "a new universal law" that "must be accepted and, subsequently, respected and put into practice by all countries and peoples of the world."¹⁵

While the Earth Charter Initiative claims to be open to new ideas and varied viewpoints, a known associate of the Initiative located in Moscow, Russia regularly removes dissenting statements about the Charter from a free and open online encyclopedia, particularly if the statements present Roman Catholic views that are faithful to the Magisterium. Only the opinions and names of groups that endorse the Charter are allowed to remain. Links to this page about the Earth Charter at the Catholic Conservation Center and references to statements by Church officials are promptly removed.¹⁸ The Earth Charter's "big brother" is already watching. Dissent is not allowed.

The "New Ten Commandments" and "Ark of Hope"

Superficially, the Charter appears to be a noble concept designed to end social and environmental tensions around the world. However, a closer look reveals the underlying principles of atheistic and secular humanism, neo-paganism, Marxism, authoritarianism, statism, and other beliefs that are in irreconcilable conflict with Christianity and religious freedom. This new "global ethic" is designed to supplant the Gospel of Jesus Christ and replace the Ten Commandments, neither of which can protect the Earth's ecosystems according to Charter proponents. Mr. Gorbachev is quoted as saying, "Do not do unto the environment of others what you do not want done to your own environment... My hope is that this Charter will be a kind of Ten Commandments, a 'Sermon on the Mount', that provides a guide for human behavior toward the environment in the next century.”² StevenRockefeller

In Maurice Strong's own words, “The real goal of the Earth Charter is that it will in fact become like the Ten Commandments."⁶ Mr. Gorbachev has declared his creed: "Cosmos is my god; Nature is my god."³

In contrast to the Ark of the Covenant that housed the Ten Commandments, the Earth Charter is housed in the "Arc of Hope." The Arc is shown in several photos on this page. The Arc's design is intended to honor some of the world’s spiritual alternatives to Christianity. According to the website of the Earth Charter Initiative, the ark's carrying poles are “fashioned like unicorn horns which, according to legend, render evil ineffective.” The five painted panels of the Ark are decorated with "indigenous symbolism celebrating Earth and all her living elements." The photo to the right is of Steven Rockefeller, Earth Charter Commissioner and Chair of the Earth Charter Drafting Committee, speaking at the unveiling of the Ark of Hope at Shelburne Farms, Vermont in 2001.¹⁷ Rockefeller's appearance at this event calls into question the recent claims by associates of the Earth Charter Initiative that the Ark is a completely independent project.

At least one Catholic women religious order has honored the Ark, with the Charter inside, in a Catholic chapel.

The Earth Charter ignores the existence of God, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Efforts to heal the Earth without God or by human efforts alone are not "sustainable" and will ultimately fall short. Pope Benedict XVI has said, "Constructing a world by our own lights, without reference to God, building on our own foundation; refusing to acknowledge the reality of anything beyond the political and material, while setting God aside as an illusion - that is the temptation that threatens us."

Pope Benedict XVI criticized the beliefs underlying the Earth Charter - ethics without God designed to save the Earth - in his book, "Jesus of Nazareth" (pages 53 and 54). The Holy Father's words are critically important for our understanding of the Earth Charter and the error made by some Catholics in their support of it. ArcoftheEarthCharter

The Holy Father said, "A secularist reinterpretation of the 'Kingdom' has gained considerable ground, particularly, though not exclusively, in Catholic theology. [...] The 'Kingdom,' on this interpretation, is simply the name for a world governed by peace, justice, and the conservation of creation. It means no more than this. This 'Kingdom' is said to be the goal of history that has to be attained. This is supposedly the real task of religions: to work together for the coming of the 'Kingdom.' They are of course perfectly free to preserve their traditions and live according to their respective identities as well, but they must bring their different identifies to bear on the common task of building the 'Kingdom,' a world, in other words, where peace, justice, and respect for creation are the dominant values. This sounds good; it seems like a way of finally enabling the whole world to appropriate Jesus' message, but without requiring missionary evangelization of other religions. It looks as if now, at long last, Jesus' words have gained some practical content, because the establishment of the 'Kingdom' has become a common task and is drawing nigh. On closer examination, though, it seems suspicious. Who is to say what justice is? What serves justice in particular situations? How do we create peace? On closer inspection, this whole project proves to be utopian dreaming without any real content, except insofar as its exponents tacitly presuppose some partisan doctrine as the content that all are required to accept. But the main thing that leaps out is that God has disappeared; man is the only actor left on the stage. The respect for religious 'traditions' claimed by this way of thinking is only apparent. The truth is that they are regarded as so many sets of customs, which people should be allowed to keep, even though they ultimately count for nothing. Faith and religions are now directed toward political goals. Only the organization of the world counts. Religion matters only insofar as it can serve that objective. This post-Christian vision of faith and religion is disturbingly close to Jesus' third temptation... Our main criticism of the secular-utopian idea of the 'Kingdom' has been that it pushes God off the stage. He is no longer needed, or else he is a downright nuisance. But Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God, not just any kind of kingdom."²¹

Ethics without God are dangerous. The warning of Pope Pius XI in 1937 against totalitarianism is fitting today: "Whoever exalts race, or the people, or the State, or a particular form of State, or of the depositories of power, or any other fundamental value of the human community -- however necessary and honorable be their function of worldly things -- whoever raises these notions above their standard value and divinizes them to an idolatrous level, distorts and perverts an order of the world planned and created by God; he is far from the true faith in God and from the concept of life which that faith upholds."

For believers, the true solutions to our global environmental problems are found in sacred Scripture, the living Tradition of the Church, the message of Creation, and the voice of conscience enlightened by God’s law authentically interpreted. In contrast, the secular humanists, neo-pagans, and Marxists who founded the Earth Charter are concerned solely with the message of nature and the voice of ego.

The Earth Charter provides no protection for unborn children or their mothers, while offering protection for nearly every other creature on Earth. We know by science exactly how and when a human life begins. Apparently for proponents of the Earth Charter, the benefits of their twisted "sustainable development" and "human rights" for the most powerful among us are more important than the lives of the weakest among us. Tragically, some proponents of the Charter endorse abortion as a tool of sustainable development, an endorsement carefully cloaked under the banners of "family planning," "choice," or "access to health care."

In the words of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta, "I have said often, and I am sure of it, that the greatest destroyer of peace in the world today is abortion. If a mother can kill her own child, what is there to stop you and me from killing each other?"

Proponents of the Charter claim that they take no position for or against abortion. It is clear, however, that choosing to deny protection for unborn babies is taking a position.

A number of proponents of the Charter have suggested euthanasia for those determined not capable of living a "quality" life.

Recalling the words of Blessed Mother Theresa, "If a mother can kill her own child, then what is left of the West to be destroyed?" At this point we can ask, exactly who and what is the Earth Charter going to save?

Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church specifically address the root causes of social injustice and environmental destruction, including the sins of arrogance, greed, and lack of respect for life. The Earth Charter glorifies the sins of arrogance, greed, and disrespect for life! This is illustrated by the arrogance of ignoring our Creator and Redeemer, and the immense power and wealth already accumulated by the Charter's founders and their insatiable desire for even more power through "global governance." The disrespect for life is glorified by the Charter's failure to protect the weakest among us.

Proponents of the Charter argue that the Charter is a secular document, therefore, it should not, or need not, mention God. Yet, one has only to look to the United States Declaration of Independence as an example of properly recognizing God in an otherwise secular document: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Another founding document, the Constitution of the United States, refers to these rights as the "blessings of liberty." Mikhail Gorbachev himself looks to the U.S. Constitution as a model for the Earth Charter: "We can use experience of the founding fathers of the United States' Constitution" (speech at the Rio+5 Forum, March 18, 1997). However, the founding fathers expressly recognized our rights as a gift from God. The United States' first president, George Washington, said, "It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor."¹⁴

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights also recognizes human rights as being "inalienable." However, our rights according to the Earth Charter would be alienable. Rights would be granted as favors or privileges and enforced by a centralized global government, rather than freely and lovingly given by God. The importance of this difference cannot be overstated.

Proponents of the Earth Charter claim that the Charter does not use the words "God" or "Creator" because the Charter is "ecumenical," meaning that it speaks to people of all faiths. However, this is a misuse of the word "ecumenical." "Ecumenical" typically means "of, relating to, or representing the whole of a body of churches; promoting or tending toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation" (Merriam-Webster Online). According to the Church's Decree on Ecumenism, "the term 'ecumenical movement' indicates the initiatives and activities planned and undertaken, according to the various needs of the Church and as opportunities offer, to promote Christian unity." Without any reference to God, and without specifically promoting Christian unity, the Earth Charter is not ecumenical. By definition, the Earth Charter is at best "secular," meaning "not overtly or specifically religious," and at worst "atheistic," denying the existence of God entirely.

All the Earth's people must work together to heal the Earth. This includes Catholics working peacefully with atheists, statists, and Marxists. However, we do not need to adopt or endorse their beliefs in order to live in peace. And we don't need to endorse the Earth Charter in order to love our neighbors and restore Creation. It is critically important for everyone, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, that Catholics respectfully champion our beliefs in the global public square and make certain that God is not forgotten. We should not set aside our beliefs, or push them into the background. The world needs to hear from Jesus Christ and his Church. We are to "proclaim the Gospel to every creature." Pope Paul VI wisely stated, "All believers of whatever religion always hear His revealing voice in the discourse of creatures. When God is forgotten, however, the creature itself grows unintelligible."

Catholicism has a highly developed system of social teaching that we should respectfully proclaim to the whole world. The Church's social teaching is infinitely more loving, just, sustainable, peaceful, authentic, rich, wise, deep, holy, whole, life-affirming, and green than the Earth Charter!

Not only is the Earth Charter and its godless foundation fundamentally and seriously flawed, it is unnecessary. Catholics do not need an Earth Charter or any other new "global ethic" in order to love God, love our neighbors, and care for Creation.

The teachings of the Bible and the Church have always been green! God has always called us to be stewards of Creation. From the first pages of the Bible, we are instructed to "cultivate and care for" Creation (Genesis 2:15). Dominion, properly understood, means that we have sovereignty over and responsibility for the well-being of God's Creation. No where does it say that we are to destroy the Earth! Our dominion must resemble God's dominion. God has appointed humankind as the guardian of Creation. We are called to cultivate and care for the Earth as God does, with love and wisdom.

The Roman Catholic faith is grounded in objective truths, in unalienable rights granted by our Creator and Redeemer, in God's book of nature, and in His Word revealed in Scripture and Tradition, in marked contrast to a godless morality grounded in the subjective whims of a self-appointed global government ("governance") and its disordered version of "sustainable development." We only need to better know and understand our own religion. And we need to remain vigilant: We are responsible for the well-being of the Earth, yet there are people who would take advantage of our current environmental situation for personal gain or to advance an oppressive political ideology. In addition, we should understand our concept of "authentic development," through which people remain free, versus their corrupted version of "sustainable development," through which we would become servants of the State. The choice is clear. The world urgently needs our example and leadership to begin the process of authentically conserving and restoring Creation, a process that will be completed by God - the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier of all Creation.

"This leads to the great question: What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity,

now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world."

"The right to a safe environment is ever more insistently presented today as a right that must be included in an updated [United Nations] Charter of Human Rights."

"Mathew and Luke recount three temptations of Jesus that reflect the inner struggle over his own particular mission and, at the same time, address the question as to what truly matters in human life. At the heart of all temptations, as we see here, is the act of pushing God aside because we perceive him as secondary, if not actually superfluous and annoying, in comparison with all the apparently far more urgent matters that fill our lives. Constructing a world by our own lights, without reference to God, building on our own foundation; refusing to acknowledge the reality of anything beyond the political and material, while setting God aside as an illusion - that is the temptation that threatens us in many varied forms.

Moral posturing is part and parcel of temptation. It does not invite us directly to do evil - no, that would be far too blatant. It pretends to show us a better way, where we finally abandon our illusions and throw ourselves into the work of actually making the world a better place. It claims, moreover, to speak for true realism: What's real is what is right there in front of us - power and bread. By comparison, the things of God fade into unreality, into a secondary world that no one really needs.

The three temptations are identical in Matthew and Luke, but the sequence is different. We will follow Matthew's sequence...

The devil takes the Lord in a vision onto a high mountain. He shows him all the kingdoms of the earth and their splendor and offers him kingship over the world... [Jesus gives] an unbelievably harsh answer: "Get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men" (Mt 16:23).

...The interpretation of Christianity as a recipe for progress and the proclamation of universal prosperity as the real goal of all religions, including Christianity - this is the modern form of the same temptation.

Jesus, however, repeats to us what he said in reply to Satan, what he said to Peter, and what he explained further to the disciples of Emmaus: No kingdom of this world is the Kingdom of God, the total condition of mankind's salvation. Earthly kingdoms remain earthly human kingdoms, and anyone who claims to be able to establish the perfect world is the willing dupe of Satan and plays the world right into his hands.

Now, it is true that this leads to the great question: What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought?

The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world."

The Catholic Conservation Center is getting ready to grow. We feel a call to start a real (i.e. physical) education center where we can share God's Word related to environmental justice, authentic development, and the stewardship of Creation.

The center would be a peaceful place where people can come to receive and share authentic Catholic education and inspiration to be faithful stewards of Creation. In addition, we need to upgrade our website. If you are blessed with land, property, financial resources, or other resources you would be interested in contributing, we would like to speak with you.

To begin, we will need to raise $850 for the IRS to file for 501(c)3 tax exempt status, and $75 to file as a not-for-profit corporation in New York State.

Those who promote false teachings are well funded. We are not. Your contributions are greatly appreciated.

VATICAN, Nov. 29, 2000 (CWNews.com) -- Msgr. Michel Schooyans, a noted Belgian political theorist, has expressed serious misgivings about the process of “globalization” as it is seen by the United Nations leadership.

The UN, Msgr. Schooyans concluded, is now aiming to create a new world order over which a “supergovernment” would preside. “The Church will have no choice but to fight against such a form of globalization,” Msgr. Schooyans remarked. This powerful new government would suppress intermediate structures, and seek “more and more centralized control of information, knowledge, technology, human life, health, commerce, politics, and law.”

by Msgr. Michel Schooyans, Member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences

As can be seen from many recent documents from UN agencies like UNFPA, there is a trend for the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be supplanted by documents such as the Earth Charter. Man is considered to be the result of the evolution of matter, and he must agree to submit himself to the Great Whole. This, we are told, is the price to pay for "sustainable development." This view of Mother Earth denies man the central place in the world that was assigned to him in the 1948 Declaration. We must return to this anthropocentrism and this universalism, which was inspired by the Roman, Jewish, and Christian traditions and was brilliantly reaffirmed by the Renaissance, if we wish to save and protect human capital. The quintessential value is man and not the environment. Without men properly prepared to become responsible managers of Nature, Nature itself cannot but deteriorate and man cannot but vanish. This view of man and his relationship with nature necessitates a fully humanistic conception of development. This conception prompts us to revisit current educational, health, and food policies. It also prompts us to reconsider policies relating to women and families.

Speaking about the Earth Charter and related globalism, Msgr. Michel Schooyans said, "In order to consolidate this holistic vision of globalism, certain obstacles have to be smoothed out and instruments put to work. Religions in general, and in the first place the Catholic religion, figure among the obstacles that have to be neutralized."

--Msgr. Michel Schooyans, Professor Emeritus at the University of Louvain, is a Member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and Advisor to the Pontifical Council for the Family. Defending Man and the Family in UNCHS -The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements-, June 2001, Vol. 7, n2

Speaking about the nation state and efforts to destroy it, Msgr. Schooyans said, "Without doubt, insofar as [nation states] exist and accomplish their role well, particular nations protect their citizens; they bring about respect for human rights, and use appropriate means towards this end. Presently, in the milieus of the UN, the destruction of nations appears as an objective to be sought if one wishes definitively to smother the anthropocentric conception of man's rights. By doing away with the intermediate body called the national state, one puts an end to subsidiarity, since a centralized world state will have been put in place. The way will be open, then, for the arrival of the globalizing technocrats and other aspirants to world governance."

--LOUVAIN-LA-NEUVE, Belgium, SEPT. 8, 2001 (Zenit.org).- The United Nations is embracing a type of globalization that would radically redefine rights and the power of nations. Here, ZENIT offers an adapted excerpt from an essay by Michel Schooyans, professor emeritus at Louvain University, on the problems of globalization.

The website of the Earth Charter Initiative features a private fax (or telegram) sent from Archbishop Leonardo Sandri to Monsignor Comastri in 2001, containing a message about welcoming Mikhail Gorbachev to Italy.¹⁹ According to the fax, the purpose of Gorbachev's visit is to present the project of the Earth Charter. The Initiative touts this fax as a show of support for the Earth Charter by Pope John Paul II. This is a completely false and misleading interpretation of the fax.

“To his Excellency Monsignor Angelo Comastri, Pontifical Delegate. Having been notified that Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev, the distinguished President of Green Cross International, is in Italy to present the project of the Earth Charter, the Supreme Pontiff requests your Excellency to express his satisfaction for a work well done in defending our environmental heritage, and to encourage this esteemed statesman’s meritorious effort to bring forth greater respect for the planet’s resources, given by God so that every person may live a dignified life. His Holiness sends his greeting and blessing.”

(Signed) Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, Sostituto, Secretariat of State, Vatican City State.” (Incorrect translation from original telegram sent by Archbishop Sandri on the occasion of Mr. Gorbachev’s presentation of the Earth Charter in Urbino, Italy on 2 July 2001, as provided by the Earth Charter Initiative.)

Gorbachev was visiting Italy to "present the project of the Earth Charter." In other words, the fax was written by the Archbishop before the Earth Charter was presented. There is no statement here of how well that presentation was received, and there is no statement of endorsement or approval of the Earth Charter specifically. After referring to the presentation of the Earth Charter as the purpose of Gorbachev's visit, the Charter is not mentioned again. There is no quote by the Holy Father. The Archbishop concludes by reminding Gorbachev that the planet's resources are "given by God so that every person may live a dignified life."

The fax expresses satisfaction "per opera svolta," which translates as "for work carried out." It does not say "for a work" as in a single work, which is part of the incorrect translation provided by the Earth Charter Initiative. The fax is a formal greeting according to protocol that recognizes Gorbachev's body of "work" in general as "the distinguished President of Green Cross International" and an "esteemed statesman."

The website of the Earth Charter Initiative displays this private fax, which isn't actually addressed to Gorbachev or written by the Holy Father, under a prominent and very misleading heading: "Congratulations from Pope John Paul II to Mikhail Gorbachev for his work on the Earth Charter."¹⁹

Associates of the Earth Charter Initiative sometimes place the Holy Father's name in front of quotes taken from the fax, incorrectly translated, as if the Holy Father himself is being quoted directly. The fax is written by Archbishop Sandri and does not contain any quotes by the Holy Father.

The Initiative does not explain how they obtained a private fax or why they are displaying an internal Church communication on the Internet. A copy of the fax is displayed by the Earth Charter Initiative here.

Pope Pius XI:

A New Morality Without a Basis on Christian Faith Can't Succeed

"It is on faith in God, preserved pure and stainless, that man's morality is based. All efforts to remove from under morality and the moral order the granite foundation of faith and to substitute for it the shifting sands of human regulations, sooner or later lead these individuals or societies to moral degradation. The fool who has said in his heart 'there is no God' goes straight to moral corruption (Psalms xiii. 1), and the number of these fools who today are out to sever morality from religion, is legion. They either do not see or refuse to see that the banishment of confessional Christianity, i.e., the clear and precise notion of Christianity, from teaching and education, from the organization of social and political life, spells spiritual spoliation and degradation. No coercive power of the State, no purely human ideal, however noble and lofty it be, will ever be able to make shift of the supreme and decisive impulses generated by faith in God and Christ. If the man, who is called to the hard sacrifice of his own ego to the common good, loses the support of the eternal and the divine, that comforting and consoling faith in a God who rewards all good and punishes all evil, then the result of the majority will be, not the acceptance, but the refusal of their duty." (804)

"Whoever exalts race, or the people, or the State, or a particular form of State, or of the depositories of power, or any other fundamental value of the human community---however necessary and honorable be their function of worldly things---whoever raises these notions above their standard value and divinizes them to an idolatrous level, distorts and perverts an order of the world planned and created by God; he is far from the true faith in God and from the concept of life which that faith upholds."

"No coercive power of the State, no purely human ideal, however noble and lofty it may be, will ever be able to make shift of the supreme and decisive impulses generated by faith in God and Christ."

"Should any man dare, in sacrilegious disregard of the essential differences between God and His creature, between the God-man and the children of man, to place a mortal, were he the greatest of all times, by the side of, or over, or against Christ, he would deserve to be called the prophet of nothingness, to whom the terrifying words of Scripture would be applicable: “He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh at them” (Psalms 2.3).

The Communism of today, more emphatically than similar movements in the past, conceals in itself a false messianic idea. A pseudo-ideal of justice, of equality and fraternity in labor impregnates all its doctrine and activity with a deceptive mysticism, which communicates a zealous and contagious enthusiasm to the multitudes entrapped by delusive promises."

    VATICAN, February 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragán, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, surprised those who doubt that the Maurice Strong led movement for a new "global ethic" presented a threat to Christianity. [Maurice Strong is a founder and leader of the Earth Charter movement.] In an article published yesterday in the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano, the Archbishop warned that the aim of the program was to supplant Christian values with a "global ethic."

    The "New Paradigm" as it is called in the article is an eco-religion which holds "sustainable development" as the highest good. The Archbishop warns that the New Paradigm manifests itself "as a new spirituality that supplants all religions, because the latter have been unable to preserve the ecosystem." In a word, this is "a new secular religion, a religion without God, or if you prefer, a new God that is the earth itself with the name GAIA," he said.

    The influence of the New Paradigm is already felt in the field of bioethics which uses warped interpretations of ethical stands which result in justifying research which offends human dignity such as embryonic stem cell research.

    "The different religions existing in the world have been unable to generate this global ethic; therefore, they must be replaced by a new spirituality, which has as its end global well-being, within sustainable development," explained Archbishop Barragán.

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    VATICAN CITY, FEB. 11, 2003 (Zenit.org) - A Vatican official warns of a plan to supplant Christian values with a "universal ethic" in the new context of globalization. Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragán, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, analyzed and criticized the fundamental characteristics of the "New Paradigm" in an article in the Jan. 11 Italian edition of L'Osservatore Romano.

    The article mentioned some of the most important topics of the World Day of the Sick (www.worlddayofthesick.org), held in Washington, D.C., today. Archbishop Lozano presided over the U.S. event in his capacity as special papal envoy.

Ideology

    According to the archbishop, this "New Paradigm" is influenced by the following ideological currents:

-- Eclecticism, which "accepts any affirmation on conduct regardless of its system, context and judgment";

-- Historicism, which holds that "truth changes according to its adaptation to a specific period of history."

-- Scientific spirit, which says "the only acceptable truth is the one which can be experienced scientifically";

-- Pragmatism: "the sole criterion of ethical decisions is their usefulness";

-- Nihilism: "gives up the capacity to arrive at objective truths."

Characteristics

    Archbishop Lozano Barragán described the features of the New Paradigm as follows:

-- "The objective of the new global ethic is global well-being within sustainable development."

-- "This global well-being constitutes the end called 'quality of life,'" which means "the individual's perception of his position in life, in the context of culture and of the system of values in which he finds himself."

-- Quality of life covers six areas: "physical health, psychological health, level of dependence, social relations, milieu (economy, freedom, security, information, participation, environment, traffic, climate, transportation ...), spirituality (religion, personal beliefs)."

-- "What is basic is individual self-determination. Social obligations are disregarded."

Regarding religion and spirituality, the archbishop spelled out these points in the New Paradigm:

-- "The different religions existing in the world have been unable to generate this global ethic; therefore, they must be replaced by a new spirituality, which has as its end global well-being, within sustainable development."

-- "Nature, the earth, called 'GAIA,' is divine and inviolable. The human being is only one more element of it, who can only be understood in harmony with the earth."

-- "This new ethic is based on five pillars: human rights and responsibility, democracy and elements of civil society, protection of minorities, commitment to the peaceful solution of conflicts and honest negotiations, intergenerational equity."

-- "There are four problems that must be solved: the first affects the man-nature balance; the second the meaning of happiness, of life, and of plentitude; the third examines relations between the individual and the community; and the fourth looks to a balance between equity and freedom."

Bioethics

    According to Archbishop Lozano Barragán, this theory imposes three principles on bioethics:

-- The principle of autonomy: "an action is good if it respects the freedom of the moral agent and of others."

-- The principle of beneficence: "good must always be done and evil avoided."

-- The principle of justice: "give each one his due."

    These three principles end up submerged in relativism as, for example, according to the principle of autonomy "those who are not free are not considered for this moral action, for example, the handicapped, children, fetuses, embryos," the archbishop explained.

    The principle of beneficence says that good must be done, but it does not explain what is the good for others. If one does not know what good is, good cannot be done consistently. And the same happens with justice, he added.

New Paradigm vs. Christianity

    Archbishop Lozano Barragán explained that some of the values presented by the New Paradigm can be shared: concern for the environment, human rights, respect for minorities, democracy, social justice, health and education for all.

    However, the New Paradigm manifests itself "as a new spirituality that supplants all religions, because the latter have been unable to preserve the ecosystem." In a word, this is "a new secular religion, a religion without God, or if you prefer, a new God that is the earth itself with the name GAIA," he said.

    "The series of values that sustain the New Paradigm are values subordinated to this divinity that becomes the supreme ecological value, which they call sustainable development. The highest ethical end, within this sustainable development, is well-being," he wrote.

    "Clearly, we are faced with the total denial of Christianity and the fundamental fact of Christianity, the Incarnation of the Word, the redeeming death of Christ and his glorious resurrection. If this historical fact is accepted, the assumption of the New Paradigm fails completely," the archbishop warned.

    "This does not mean that the genuine values proclaimed by the New Paradigm also fail, values that are not foreign to Christian thought, but find their raison d'être in the latter," he added.

    The president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers said that the New Paradigm runs into its greatest problem "when it perceives that everything must be based on consensus, a consensus that does not stem from objective truths, but from subjective opinions."

    "An authentic universal ethic, which really hopes to be global, must be an ethic founded on the objectivity of man himself ... whose end is God himself and, in the final instance, the historical fact of the Incarnation of God," the archbishop concluded.

Return to Pope John XXIII's prophetic teaching: Pacem in Terris

"You cannot imagine how great is people's foolishness. They have no sense or discernment, having lost it by hoping in themselves and putting their trust in their own knowledge."

LINKS

Global Eco-Logic

Read "Earth Charter Woos Catholics with New Age Spirituality" by Mary Jo Anderson, if you can find a copy.

⁴ Ecology, Religion, and Global Governance. Steven C. Rockefeller. Prepared for A Symposium on Religion and World Order, Sponsored by Global Education Associates, Maryknoll Center for Mission Research and Study, and Fordham University Institute on Religion and Culture. May 3-7, 1997.

⁵Anita Coolidge, "Ecology: The ultimate democracy - A report from the State of the World Forum," San Diego Earth Times, November 1995, Internet document, http://www.sdearthtimes.com/et1195/et1195s3.html, p. 3

⁶Interview: Maurice Strong on a "People's Earth Charter." Transcript of interview conducted March 5, 1998. The Earth Council.

⁷Green Cross International, "The Founding Speech of Green Cross, by President Mikhail Gorbachev," Kyoto, Japan, April 20, 1993, Internet document, http://www4.gve.ch/gci/GreenCrossFamily/gorby/FoundingspeechGorbi.html, p. 7

⁸PEACE WITH GOD THE CREATOR, PEACE WITH ALL OF CREATION. Message of His Holiness Pope John Paul II for the celebration of the WORLD DAY OF PEACE, January 1, 1990.

¹²The Earth Charter Campaign, "The Earth Charter: The Green Cross Philosophy," Internet document, http://www.earthcharter.org/report/special/greencross.htm, p. 5

²¹Pope Benedict XVI, "Jesus of Nazareth," (pages 53 and 54), published by Doubleday, 2007.

The Earth Charter

Agenda for Totalitarianism

The "New Ten Commandments" and "Ark of Hope"

Pope Pius XI:

A New Morality Without a Basis on Christian Faith Can't Succeed

Return to Pope John XXIII's prophetic teaching: Pacem in Terris

LINKS

Global Eco-Logic