Catholic Social Teaching:
Kaitiakitanga
The Catholic social teaching principle of stewardship – kaitiakitanga – is about being responsible guardians. We are kaitiaki - guardians of the earth. Exercising stewardship is caring for the gifts God has given us, including the environment, our own personal talents and other resources.
Being Responsible Guardians
Exercising stewardship is caring for the gifts that God has given to us, including the environment, our own personal talents and other resources.
We are kaitiaki – guardians of the earth. The integrity of the ecosystems which make up the earth is vital for our survival and for the well-being of future generations.
Everything in creation is given for all people. Understanding our interdependence with all living creatures, we should use God’s gifts responsibly to meet the needs of everyone, now and in the future..
Searching the Scriptures...
Social Justice teaching is founded on firm scriptural foundations.
God saw everything he had made, and indeed, it was very good.
Genesis 1:31The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
Genesis 2:15Ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being.
Job 12:7-10'
...And in the light of Catholic social teaching.
‘Once we start to think about the kind of world we are leaving to future generations, we look at things differently; we realize that the world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others.'
Pope Francis: Laudato Si’, (paragraph 159), 2015
‘Our faith and our religious tradition have much to offer the world at this time, including the importance of simplicity, and of learning to give up some things that we want, so others may have what they need. Our understanding that we are stewards of God’s creation, our solidarity with the poor, and our respect for the common good make the issue of environmental justice the responsibility of every person.’
New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference: Statement on Environmental Justice, 2006‘We received this world as an inheritance from past generations, but also as a loan from future generations, to whom we will have to return it!’
Pope Francis, Ecuador, July 7, 2015‘Our earth is talking to us and we must listen to it and decipher its message if we want to survive.'
Pope Benedict XVI, July 24, 2007
Great Examples: Snapshots from Oceania
The following images and captions showcase great examples of stewardship in action. Every one of these examples highlights the importance of caring for creation – starting with our local environment.
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Kiribati Climate Change Adaption
People in Kiribati are learning about new ways of growing vegetables as rising seas and erratic weather threaten traditional food supplies and systems.
Image credit: Caritas Kiribati Youth Group
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Te Rawara people reconnect with Au Warawara
Rangitahi (youth) from Te Kura Taumata o Panguru reconnect for the first time with their ancestors’ forest of Au Warawara through a waiata of lament and hope - as part of a generation long project restoring the forest and its place in the heart of the Te Rarawa people in the Hokianga, Aotearoa New Zealand.
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Tutu Rural Training Centre
Gleno and Wani Filipe are one of many couples who have passed through Tutu Rural Training Centre, Fiji, learning about organic growing, business and relationship skills.
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Kiribati Climate Action Network
Members of Kiribati Climate Action Network (KiriCAN) Plant mangroves to protect their shorelines, create a habitat for fish and enrich coastal ecosystems on their low lying atolls.
Image credit: Caritas Australia
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Art of Agriculture
Carteret Islanders, forced to migrate from their island atolls, are learning the art of agriculture as they resettle on mainland Bougainville.
Image credit: Tulele Peisa
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Papatūānuku Kī Taurangi - Earth Promise
The Mercy Sisters’ community garden Papatūānuku Kī Taurangi - Earth Promise in Ellerslie, Auckland helps people look after the land and each other, while teaching the lost arts of growing food and maintaining a healthy soil. In the foreground Ping and her nephew Felix are planting garlic as part of a ritual for Matariki - the beginning of the growing season in Aotearoa.
Image credit: Papatūānuku Kī Taurangi - Earth Promise
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2 Million Trees
Children plant trees as part of Samoa’s ‘2 million trees planting campaign’ in 2019.
Image credit: Karen Anaya/Caritas Samoa
Living out CST: Ideas for putting faith into action
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
What stood out from the testimonies above?
Where in the past week did you notice someone upholding the dignity of others?
Can you think of an example in your community or NZ society where someone’s human dignity was not upheld?
How does my appreciation of how each person is made in the image and likeness of God affect the way I relate to people in need?
In helping others, what makes the difference in terms of upholding and enhancing their own dignity as people?
Acting in Faith
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Individual
Read and reflect on the case studies and questions above.
Identify 3 people whose dignity may not be upheld – especially the lonely and isolated – and reach out to them.
Be present with everyone that you encounter. Just being there to talk to is better than not, even if you don't know what to do or say.
Improve your own mental health and well-being. The Mental Health Foundation have great ideas: https://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/home/ways-to-wellbeing/.
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Family
Affirm the strengths and victories of your family members.
Read, reflect and pray with the passage from Genesis 1:26-31 as a family.
Watch this great CRS video as a family: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABRl2ZSs58E
Actively communicate with and engage with your family. It can be as easy as having family meals together at the dinner table.
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Community
Affirm the strengths and victories of your family members.
Read, reflect and pray with the passage from Genesis 1:26-31 as a family.
Watch this great CRS video as a family: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABRl2ZSs58E
Actively communicate with and engage with your family. It can be as easy as having family meals together at the dinner table.
Closing Prayers
Kia īnoi tātou, we pray for the strength of heart and mind to look beyond ourselves and address the needs of our brothers and sisters throughout the world. God of generosity and compassion, hear our prayer.
Leader: E te Ariki... All: whakarongo mai rā ki a mātou.
We pray for all nations, that they may live in unity and peace and that all people may know justice and enjoy the perfect freedom which recognises a person’s dignity. God of liberty and freedom, hear our prayer.
Leader: E te Ariki... All: whakarongo mai rā ki a mātou.
We pray that the Holy Spirit helps us to embrace the most vulnerable members of our society to ensure that we work to restore their dignity. God of all gifts and blessings, hear our prayer.
Leader: E te Ariki... All: whakarongo mai rā ki a mātou.
Creator God, Your image is alive in every human person
giving to each of us an inviolable dignity.
Create in us a desire to act in solidarity, the ability to work together, and a willingness to share with others our time, our energy, our skills and talents and our wealth.
As we share and enjoy the fruits of your creation, restore in us your vision of a world made whole, and inspire us to commit ourselves to the common good.
Gracious God, give us ears to hear, eyes to see and hearts to love, so that we reflect you in our way of life, And in our choices, words and actions.
Jesus is the good news to the poor. As his followers, may we recognize the call to be the same.
Amen.
(Australian Catholic Social Justice Council)