By: Vicente Ignatius Mate IV, Diane Angeli Martinez
The interactive exhibit is open to the public for free. Photo courtesy of Vicente Ignatius Mate IV of The LANCE.
Last 2015, Pope Francis released an encyclical entitled “Laudato Si”, a letter from the Pope to the lay faithful of the Catholic Church addressing the need for deeper social action on climate change. In this encyclical, the Holy Father describes climate change as a principal challenge that humanity faces today.
For the Pope, efforts to lessen the impact of climate change are not enough as there are other factors, such as economic and political power. Nonetheless, the Holy Father shared ways in which people could protect the environment, like reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gasses, developing renewable energy sources, using energy-efficient methods, and other methods of protecting God’s creation.
The significance of the word “creation” was introduced in the first chapter of the Bible when God began to create the world. Hence, the Season of Creation was created to commemorate this event, celebrated every 1st of September until the 4th of October. The Catholic Church observes it as a way to give thanks for the gift of creation and to foster stewardship among His creations.
In participation in the Season of Creation, the Archdiocese of Manila opened an interactive exhibit named “Black and White” at the Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on September 24, 2023.
This year’s Season of Creation is celebrated with the theme, “Let Justice and Peace Flow”. Inspired by the words from the book of the prophet Amos, Cardinal Advincula stresses in his pastoral letter for the Season of Celebration that the theme is an echo of the need to respond to the seven goals of the Laudato Si.
“The evocative image used by [the] Amos speaks to us of what God desires. God wants justice to reign… The 2023 Season of Creation theme “Let Justice and Peace Flow” echoes and reaffirms the need to respond or hear the seven Laudato Si goals towards integral ecology,” stated the Cardinal.
Showcasing artworks from Biboy Royong, the exhibit narrates the effects of plastic pollution on marine animals by recycling plastic materials into sculptures of several marine life, depicting the effects of the material once ingested or when trapped.
The exhibit gave an interactive approach to its audience as the artworks were provided with QR Codes that directed people to the cover page of Greenpeace Philippines. The cover page displays the artworks created by the artist in black and white, portraying the gravity of the impact of plastic waste on marine life.
During the exhibit’s ribbon cutting, Royong explained to those in attendance that the exhibit aims to spread awareness on the impact of plastic waste on the livelihood of marine animals. “Karamihan sa atin [ay] hindi nakakaalam na malakas pala ang impact pala ‘nun sa environment, lalo na sa’tin,” said Royong.
Indeed, Climate Change is a serious case that requires people’s time and attention to solve in order to showcase our stewardship of God’s creation. By attending such exhibits, people can be aware and moved to do something in feasible ways. Petitions can be signed online so that the government can initiate something to alleviate such problems.
As Pope Francis shared during his visit to the Philippines last 2015, “You are called to care for creation not only as responsible citizens, but also as followers of Christ!”