In this week of the 5th anniversary of the Encyclical Laudato Si’ Father Miles shares a reflection with us about one of the highest indexed scourges and pollutants in the world. What do we know about it? How much are we committed to combat it?
I have been considering the problem of plastic for some time. You might not know that plastic is almost as long-lived as fired clay. I first thought about recycling. Now I know that only about 2% of plastic is effectively recycled, meaning that it does not reenter the waste cycle. Then I thought about reducing use. But the use of plastic is everywhere in my life and giving me access to food, medicine, clothing and shelter. I tried to get my local house to not use single use plastic cups and have had a small victory there, although convenience for guests is a higher priority than dealing with plastic waste. The problem is overwhelming.
Do I have a solution? No.
Do I suggest a process of awareness and conversion that follows our Vincentian way of listening to see where God is calling us? Yes.
I suggest you watch a documentary “The Story of Plastic”. You can stream this documentary by hosting a virtual screening. Go to this link:
https://www.storyofplastic.org/community-screenings/host
The film is subtitled in Arabic, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Mandarin (traditional and simplified), Marathi, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian and European), Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
After you have the information, you might want to spend some time in prayer. I suggest Philippians 2: 2-11 as a reference. The text generally calls us to detach from privilege in favor of the Will of the Father. I think it will help you discern a path, which will unavoidably involve suffering. The problem is systemic, unseen, compounded by greed expressed in market manipulation and willful participation in consumption. Just look at what you bring home the next time you go to the store.
Then you might want to begin the journey.
Fr. Miles Heinen, CM
Assistant General
