Article (blog post) 1900 words Level: all audiences A post by Fr. James Kurzynski on The Catholic Astronomer blog. Fr. Kurzynski discusses Earth Day, his initial skepticism toward it, and how the writings of Pope St. John Paul II caused him to rethink that skepticism – mostly, but not entirely: Like many Americans, I had a rather suspicious attitude toward such celebrations, thinking of them as merely days of political statements and protests against anyone who didn’t embrace a 100% “Green” lifestyle. As a devout Catholic, I also struggled with expressions of what I would call an Environmental Spiritualism, treating the Earth as if it were God or another type of deity. In short, Earth Day was not high on my priority list. In time, however, my attitude began to change toward Earth Day. The beginning of the change occurred when I was in college and started to delve into Catholic Social Teaching (CST). I was surprised to discover that one of the … Continue reading →