Pope issues forceful environmental message

At the same time, Benedict XVI wasn’t simply issuing a set of political talking points. He also insisted that protecting the environment is “the duty of every person”, one which demands changes in personal habits and attitudes.

Benedict called for “new styles of life”, based not solely upon the logic of consumption but also “sobriety and solidarity”, as well as “prudence”.

Benedict linked environmental protection to other core values, such as the right to life “in every phase and in every condition”, and the family. He cautioned against a “new pantheism with neo-pagan accents” that would elevate nature into an absolute value, at the expense of human dignity.

Benedict’s 2010 World Peace Day message builds upon what many experts already regarded as the most striking element of his social teaching. His track record on ecology is extensive enough that Catholic writer Woodene Koenig-Bricker collected it into a book in May 2009, titled Ten Commandments for the Environment (Ave Maria Press.)